History

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. holds as one of its guiding principles and beliefs that minors should never use tobacco products. As part of its efforts to prevent tobacco use among minors, the company has funded youth smoking prevention programs which address three key audiences:

• Educators of students in grades 5-9, (the ages during which experimentation begins for many behaviors, including tobacco use) to help persuade them to be tobacco free;
• Parents and Grandparents, to help them communicate a youth tobacco prevention message to their children/grandchildren; and
• Retailers, to help them comply with minimum-age laws.

The first two of these are included in a program called Right Decisions, Right Now.

The program, funded by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, was first developed in 1991 by Lifetime Learning Systems Inc. It has been updated several times since it was created. The Right Decisions, Right Now program was created more than six years before the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between major U.S. tobacco companies and 46 states. It continues today as part of R.J. Reynolds’ efforts to comply with the MSA. All program materials are provided free of charge to educators, parents and guardians and others interested in reducing tobacco use.

Click the link for “Printed Materials” at the top of this page for more information about the program.