A pink "purse pack" of skinny cigarettes has health groups demanding that Philip Morris USA withdraw the new product.
Virginia Slims Superslims Lights, which come in a lipstick-size pack of 20 cigarettes, are "clearly designed to appeal to teen girls," says Cheryl Healton of the American Legacy Foundation, an anti-smoking group.
She and two dozen other health and women's groups, including the American Cancer Society, sent Philip Morris a letter this week demanding the product's removal from the market. They said smoking endangers women's health and does not empower them as suggested by the longtime Virginia Slimstagline, "You've come a long way, baby."
Philip Morris, the nation's largest cigarette maker, is targeting women -- not girls -- and has no plans to pull the product, spokesman Bill Phelps says. He says the company has sold "superslim" cigarettes before but not in such a small box.
"This packaging is innovative," Phelps says. "We call them 'purse packs.'" He says they entered stores nationwide last month. The menthol version is in a teal box.
The brouhaha over Superslims comes as Sunday marks the 10th anniversary of the $246 billion settlement between tobacco companies and 46 states that sued them for smoking-related health care costs. The settlement restricts tobacco advertising and finances Healton's group.
U.S. cigarette sales have been falling since 1998. To hold market share, tobacco companies have launched an array of smoking and smokeless tobacco products.
"Product and packaging innovation has been our focus for a few years," says David Howard of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, the nation's second-largest cigarette maker.
Last year, for example, Reynolds launched Camel No. 9, a cigarette that comes in shiny black-and-fuchsia boxes with rounded corners. The menthol flavor comes in a black-and-teal pack. Howard says focus groups of adult women called the packaging "stylish."
Public health groups, including the American Lung Association, demanded Camel No. 9's removal. They were outraged by its marketing in fashion magazines, pink packaging and name suggestive of Chanel No. 5 perfume.
The cigarette is selling well, Howard says. He says the company decided voluntarily last year to stop all print ads for its tobacco products.
"The public health community has no way to require tobacco companies to remove a product, no matter how dangerous," says Matthew Myers, president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. He says that will change if Congress passes a pending bill to give the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products. President-elect Barack Obama favors such legislation.
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