PRESS RELEASE FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Janice Fitzsimons

Phone: (302) 577-8314

Pager: (302) 247-1132

Date: June 20, 2005



AGREEMENT REACHED TO ELIMINATE TOBACCO ADVERTISING FROM SCHOOL LIBRARY EDITIONS OF TIME, NEWSWEEK, PEOPLE AND SPORTS ILLUSTRATED



(Wilmington, DE) Attorney General Jane Brady today announced that an agreement has been reached to eliminate tobacco advertising from school library editions of four major magazines with high youth readerships. The agreement was reached with Time, Inc. (which publishes Time, People and Sports Illustrated), and Newsweek, Inc. (which publishes Newsweek).



This agreement is the latest step in a continuing effort by Attorneys General to reduce youth exposure to tobacco advertising. In November 2003, Attorneys General reached an agreement with the major tobacco companies to eliminate tobacco advertising from special Aclassroom@ editions that the publishers create for use in school social studies classes, such as Time and Newsweek. In 2003, the tobacco companies agreed to arrange for Aselective binding@ of these editions, to ensure that all tobacco advertisements would be removed from these Aclassroom@ copies.



Numerous school libraries, however, subscribe to the regular editions of magazines, rather than the special Aclassroom@ editions. As a result, many elementary and secondary school students are exposed to tobacco advertising when they read magazines in their school libraries. The agreement announced today will help eliminate such advertising from the school library copies of four magazines with very high youth readerships B Time, Newsweek, People and Sports Illustrated.



Attorney General Brady said "We know that advertising has an effect on a child's decision to use tobacco. I strongly endorse eliminating tobacco product advertising in magazines with significant youth readership, particularly when it is made available to them in their school libraries." 

###