JOE CAMEL CAMPAIGN DRAWS FIRE.

Byline: Skip Wollenberg Associated Press 

With federal regulators still studying new rules to curb underage smoking, you might think the controversial cartoon pitchman Joe Camel would be lying low for a while. Think again.

The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has its hip spokes-animal making his splashiest pitch yet in pop-up magazine advertisements that make him look like a ticket scalper. He is dressed in dark shades, a black leather jacket and a white T-shirt and is pushing show tickets outside a theater.

"Go ahead, it's on me," the ads say as Joe appears to extend his hand with a couple of tickets. The four-page ads have been running over the past few weeks in Rolling Stone, Details and Sports Illustrated magazines.

The ads promote a chance to cash in coupons from Camel cigarette packs for $25 gift certificates that can be used when buying tickets to concerts or other events through Ticketmaster, the ticketing agent.

Critics have long held that the cartoon camel is designed to get impressionable teens to start smoking Camels, and they say having him offer discounts on tickets to rock concerts and other shows reinforces their case.

Reynolds denies that Joe Camel is aimed at minors and notes that federal regulators decided two years ago against challenging the company's use of the cartoon figure.

It says the ticket promotion clearly states it is available only to smokers over 21 years old and adds that teens aren't likely to buy tickets through the agency anyway.

The promotion comes as tobacco companies are under assault from state officials, federal regulators and anti-smoking activists on many fronts.

Several states have sued to get tobacco companies to help them pay for treating smoking-related illnesses. Smokers are pursuing a federal class-action suit accusing tobacco makers of manipulating nicotine to keep them hooked. And federal regulators have proposed several steps to curb underage smoking, including banning the use of cartoon characters in tobacco promotions.

The nation's fifth-largest cigarette company, Liggett Group, recently broke ranks with the industry and agreed to settle the lawsuits and to adopt some of the regulatory proposals, including the cartoon ban.

Liggett's leader, Bennett LeBow, is trying to unseat the board of RJR Nabisco Holdings Corp., which owns R.J. Reynolds and its Joe Camel character.

If LeBow wins, analysts say RJR may buy Liggett. If so, Liggett's settlement agreement could be extended to Reynolds.

And that could be the end for the cartoon camel.

But Reynolds doesn't expect it to get that far and insists that the Joe Camel character isn't aimed at getting youngsters to smoke anyway.

"We don't market to kids," said Reynolds spokesman Richard Williams.

The ticket offer is part of a long-running program that encourages smokers to stick with the Camel brand.

CAPTION(S):

PHOTO

Photo (Color) R.J. Reynolds' Joe Camel gives away concert discounts. Associated Press