RJR RJ Reynolds Tob Hlds

Senate Tobacco Quota Buyout/FDA Legislation Would Hurt Growers, Industry WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., July 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. today reiterated its vigorous opposition to the Kennedy/McConnell tobacco quota buyout/FDA amendment debated by the U.S. Senate. Tommy Payne, executive vice president of external relations, said, "The Kennedy/McConnell amendment is ill-conceived, imperils the viability of a tobacco quota buyout and creates an overwhelming competitive advantage for Philip Morris that is unprecedented in the modern history of Congressional action. "This amendment fails to make U.S. tobacco farmers more competitive and would be financially disastrous for tobacco manufacturers, their employees, their business partners and adult smokers, many of whom are lower- and middle- income wage earners," Payne added. "If Congress is serious about giving tobacco growers financial relief, it will adopt the House version of the tobacco quota buyout bill," Payne said. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJRT) is a wholly owned subsidiary of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:RJR). R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is the second-largest tobacco company in the United States, manufacturing about one of every four cigarettes sold in the United States. Reynolds Tobacco's product line includes four of the nation's 10 best-selling cigarette brands: Camel, Winston, Salem and Doral. For more information about RJRT, visit the company's Web site at http://www.rjrt.com/ . DATASOURCE: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company CONTACT: John Singleton, +1-336-741-4616, or David Howard, +1-336-741-3489, both of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Web site: http://www.rjrt.com/

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