AG: RJ Reynolds Settles Connecticut Lawsuit over Ads

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal says the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has agreed to a $150,000 settlement of the state’s lawsuit over 2007 Camel cigarette ads that appeared in Rolling Stone magazine.

Blumenthal announced the deal Friday. He says the company’s advertising spread violated the 1998 settlement between the states and tobacco companies because it contained cartoons that can entice children to smoke.

A spokesman for R.J. Reynolds, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., says the magazine-produced illustrations didn’t violate the 1998 settlement with the states

Spokesman David Howard says the company pulled the ad campaign two years ago and agreed to settle with Connecticut because it didn’t want to spend more time and money on the case.