PETITION CLOSED

  • The time period for signing this petition has ended.
  1. Signatures
    173 out of 500
    Petitioning
    1. President, Meredith Corporation (Mr. Jack Griffin)
  2. Created By
    Start Noticing
About this Petition Petition Letter Petition Updates

Parents and Family Circle magazines routinely include advertisements from Lorillard Tobacco Company’s “Real Parents. Real Answers.” campaign.  Tobacco companies use these so-called “youth prevention” ads to manipulate people into thinking they are trying to prevent youth smoking when in reality they are only trying to improve their image so that more people – specifically young people – trust them and buy more products.  The ads in these magazines are in fact NOT reliable prevention materials and tobacco companies should not be promoted as a trusted source. Even though these ads may appear to promote tobacco prevention, they have actually been proven to help tobacco companies sell more products, particularly to youth. We’ve contacted Meredith Corporation executives (the parent company of Parents and Family Circle), executed a letter writing campaign, conducted social media outreach, teamed up with statewide organizations, and contacted the media, but Meredith Corporation just doesn’t get it. In fact, they responded that the company believes “the anti-smoking content contained in the ads is appropriate for Parents. Furthermore, the Lorillard name only appears in small type at the bottom, so it is not promoting its brands in any way. For those reasons, we plan to continue running these ads.”

Write to Meredith Corporation and tell them to stop accepting tobacco companies' advertising dollars for their family-focused magazines.

Recent Signatures

Please Stop Accepting Tobacco Company Advertising

Dear Mr. Griffin,

As a reputable and respected provider of information, advice and resources to millions of parents, I am shocked and disappointed that Meredith Corporation allows tobacco companies to advertise their so-called “tobacco prevention” materials in your publications. Parents and Family Circle magazines routinely include advertisements from Lorillard’s “Real Parents. Real Answers.” campaign. Tobacco companies use these ads to manipulate people into thinking they are trying to prevent youth smoking when in reality they are only trying to improve their image so that more people – specifically young people – trust them and buy more products.

Please stop accepting advertising dollars for Meredith Corporation publications from Lorillard Inc. or any other tobacco company. Parents and Family Circle provide readers with quality content to help them raise their children in a healthy, safe and loving environment. But accepting ads from tobacco companies who intentionally develop new products and marketing strategies proven to be popular with kids undermines the credibility of your magazines and their content.

The materials provided by tobacco companies, the same companies that work to addict more and more people every day, should not be promoted to parents and families trying to prevent their kids from using tobacco. Meredith Corporation’s apparent lack of information regarding the types of advertisements you are placing in your publications is very frustrating. While these ads might be described by the tobacco company as “prevention” materials, we know NO tobacco company campaign has produced solid evidence of preventing youth tobacco use. In fact, evidence from recent studies shows these programs are ineffective at best and may work to encourage kids to smoke.

With magazines that promote “Healthy Kids. Happy Families.” it’s time for Meredith Corporation to stop accepting funding from tobacco companies for misleading, ineffective tobacco prevention advertisements. Advertising revenue should not overrule Meredith Corporation’s moral obligation to think of the millions of parents and families who trust these publications to print credible information.

Please rethink your advertising practices and stop accepting and printing advertisements from tobacco companies.

[Your name]

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