Replies to post #7747 on Billionaire Boys Club Member Forum (BBCMF)

[mick]

RAI ,,, Attorneys General Warn Reynolds on Claims
Thursday May 12, 8:28 pm ET
Attorneys General Warn Reynolds on 'Reduced-Risk' Claims for Eclipse Cigarettes


WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- The National Association of Attorneys General has warned R.J. Reynolds Tobacco that one or more states plan to sue it over its claims that Eclipse cigarettes may present less risk of certain smoking-related diseases than traditional cigarettes.
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The group's notice was sent March 28, but was disclosed only on Monday in a quarterly filing by Reynolds American Inc. with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Reynolds American is the parent company of Reynolds Tobacco.

The company said the notice was signed by 40 attorneys general alleging Reynolds Tobacco "has engaged in unfair and deceptive acts and practices by publishing false or misleading claims about its Eclipse brand cigarettes."

North Carolina Attorney General Roy Cooper was not one of the signatories, a Cooper spokeswoman said Wednesday.

Reynolds Tobacco said it can support advertising claims about Eclipse, which primarily heats tobacco rather than burns it. The company said the product, which is five years old, reduces secondhand smoke by 80 percent and leaves no lingering odor in a person's hair or clothes.

"Our claims are substantiated by extensive scientific testing," said Mark Smith, a Reynolds Tobacco spokesman.

Shares of Reynolds American fell 11 cents to close at $79 in Thursday trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

The association offered the cigarette company the chance to meet and discuss their concerns about Eclipse advertising, the filing said. A meeting is scheduled for early next month, the filing said.

The attorneys general allege that the company has violated the Master Settlement Agreement reached in 1998. Under the agreement, Reynolds and other major tobacco companies agreed to pay 46 states $206 billion to settle claims against the industry. The companies agreed to advertising and marketing restrictions as part of the deal.

Eclipse has never gained wide acceptance with smokers. Other cigarette companies have introduced what have been dubbed "reduced-risk" products, but none of them have caught on with smokers either.





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