274 



30 - 



"Fact cl9«rcttes took up where Lark left off by raising smokers' 

 concerns about 'gas' In cigarettes. Its patented aldehyde-redudng 

 'Purlti' filter was claimed to remove 'specific gases In smoke that 

 taste bad.' In a footnote, these gases were said to Include 

 'Formaldehyde, Crotonaldehyde, Acrolein.' One such ad read: 



Fact: if you're concerned about smoking, you should know 

 something about gas. You might not know 1t, but cigarette smoke 

 Is mostly gas — many different kinds. Not just 'tar' and 

 nicotine. And despite what w« tobacco people think, some 

 critics of smoking say it's Just as Important to cut down on 

 some of the gases as it Is to lower 'tar' and nicotine. No 

 ordinary cigarette does both. But fact does.' 



This ad reflects how the Industry claimed that the substances in 

 cigarette smoke were not -- in thi industry's conaldtred opinion — 

 harmful, while at the saiw: time '.t alarmed smokers with a clear 

 Implication that other credible sources believed othtruise, and then 

 offered the juoker a technological fix which would en-Dle him or her 

 to keep smoking with a clear conscience.* 



Ooral smokers were depicted as endorsing the 'Ooral Diet' in order 

 to cut down on their tar consumption. One ad showed a smoker 

 saying, 'I'm not too big in the willpower department. But I lost 

 700 milligrams of 'tar' in the first week on what I call 'the Ooral 

 Diet.' Now I can still enjoy smoking and cut down on 'tar' and 

 nicotine, too. 



"Real cigarettes were claimed to be the only cigarette not to 

 enhance flavor artificially. Real's menthol was also claimed to be 

 'fresh, natural. Not synthetic' Real ads also touted the 

 cigarette's low tar levels, claiming it was voted the best low tar 

 cigarette in a national taste test. 



"Lark ads abandoned the 'low gas' theme and featured hot air 

 balloons. The textual emphasis was on the technology of the filter: 

 '(Xjr unique filter has two outer 'tar' and nicotine filters, plus an 

 inner ch«bcr of specially treated charcoal granules.' 



"Lucky 100s were claimed to be the lowest tar of all filter lOOs. 



"LIM used comparison advertising to make the claim that It had 'less 

 'tar' than all leading longs.' 



"Parliament ads claimed that smokers concerned about tar had to 

 consider more than Just the tar levels of cigarettes. Regular 

 cigarettes with flush filters were claimed to place tar build-up 

 'flat against your lips.' with the clear implication that this would 

 be potentially harmful. Smokers could prevent this by smoking 

 Parliament, because its filter was 'recessed to keep tar build-up 

 from touching your lips. So there's no 'filter feedback'.' 

 Parliament was said to be 'the thoughtful choice In low-tar 

 smoking.' 



