New Mexico's Attorney General Master Settlement Agreement

Our organization asked the attorney general to postpone signing the proposed settlement. We have been highly concerned about this deal for a number of reasons. These include, but are not limited, to:

1. The terms of the settlement allowed officials and the public only one week to review the proposal.
2. New Mexicans not of the legal age to vote, those under 18, were not represented in the political process. They and their children will be forced to live under the terms of the settlement.
3. We are fully aware of the tobacco industry's history of manipulation and deceptive practices.
4. The settlement did not resolve how the money should be spent.
5. Once the various states signed the pact, tobacco stock prices immediately increased on Wall Street.

This is a great deal for the tobacco industry. Is it a great deal for New Mexico?

One major provision in the settlement was the prohibition of tobacco billboard advertisements.

While the settlement ended billboard advertising, it allows other forms of advertising and promotional activities. Our organization recently uncovered a 1994 CONFIDENTIAL R.J. Reynolds document that introduces a new marketing plan. From that document, we learned that tobacco companies had already planned to move away from billboard advertising. They did not believe the medium was effective with the modern consumer, specifically Gen Xers.