-Caveat Lector- Philip Morris textbook covers under fire By ANJETTA McQUEEN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (January 4, 2001 5:43 p.m. EST http://www.nandotimes.com) - Millions of book covers sent to schools by tobacco giant Philip Morris show children on snowboards and skis and warn them: "Don't Wipe Out. Think. Don't Smoke." The free covers have sparked protests from education and health advocates across the country, who call the brightly colored fold-over covers a smoke screen that violates a 1998 ban on tobacco advertising to children. The critics charge the covers attempt to link Philip Morris' name more to fun in the snow than to the "don't smoke" message and contain subliminal smoking messages. Some are demanding investigations by state attorneys general. Students and teachers also have complained about the covers, part of 26 million produced last year for the cigarette maker. "The snowboard looks like a lit match. The clouds look like smoke. The mountains look like mounds of tobacco at an auction," said Gerald Kilbert, who directs the California Education Department's Healthy Kids Program. "The tobacco industry is still up to their old tricks of trying to attract children using different techniques." Philip Morris says its willingness to fight youth smoking should not be judged by the book covers. The maker of Marlboro, Virginia Slims and other popular brands says the covers have no secret message and don't violate the agreement. In a letter on Wednesday to the attorneys general, however, advocates said the Philip Morris covers are "promoting its brand name among schoolchildren," and the campaign "appears to be indirectly promoting tobacco products to them." The National Association of Attorneys General is reserving judgment. "It will take some fairly sophisticated analysis," said Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who oversees enforcement of the state- tobacco agreement. "You are not dealing with direct messages but rather indirect and subliminal messages." "The potential for a violation is there," he said. "Any time you have material going into schools, you at least raise a red flag." Last year, Philip Morris sent about 26 million book covers free to 43,000 schools nationwide. Arizona high school students complained to the state attorney general. A Rhode Island middle school health counselor tossed them after seeing the cigarette makers' copyright. The California school superintendent asked principals statewide to keep them away from students. "The need isn't for Philip Morris to do anti-smoking campaigns," said Matt Myers, the top lawyer for the advocacy group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "The need is for Philip Morris to stop doing advertising that makes its products more popular among children than any other brands." Philip Morris, which spends $100 million a year on government-backed anti-smoking projects and print and television anti-smoking advertising, feels a duty to deter underage users of its products and sought a message that would appeal to students, said company spokesman Brendan McCormick. "The only intention with the covers is to help reduce the incidence of youth smoking," McCormick said. The covers include the surgeon general's patent warning against smoking and the company's name in a copyright declaration. The covers, which include sunbursts and other sporting designs, were tested in market focus groups, McCormick said, and none of those children saw pro-smoking images. He said the covers are "in accordance with the spirit of the agreement." In a 1998 settlement for $200 billion with several states, cigarette makers were banned from advertising to underage customers. In the pact between 46 states and the tobacco industry, Philip Morris, along with firms such as R.J. Reynolds and Brown & Williamson, agreed to help states pay for youth anti-smoking campaigns. Book covers, often required by schools to protect textbooks from excessive wear, are widely distributed by other companies. Primedia, which owns in- school network Channel One, designs and distributes covers for Philip Morris, Kellogg, Walt Disney Co. and Hershey Food Co. among others. No Philip Morris covers are planned for 2001, Primedia said. "The book covers seek to make Philip Morris a credible messenger," said Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids' Myers. "That only enhances its traditional advertising." Some smoking opponents, wary of any help from tobacco companies, say their ads avoid mention of the harsh realities of smoking like lung cancer. "It's like the fox guarding the henhouse," said Carol Hall-Walker, who manages anti-tobacco projects for Rhode Island, where 34 percent of high schoolers smoke. 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