I Am in Receipt of Your Holiday Card and Gift Certificate Coupons for $1.00 Addressed to My Husband, Ken Iverson.

In this letter, a woman writes to James Wesley Johnston (Chief Executive Officer of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company) to say she received a holiday card and gift certificate coupons addressed to her 44 year old husband who is now dying of lung cancer. She says she has two young children to care for, thousands of dollars in medical costs incurred due to her husband's illness, and that her husband is now total care rendering her unable to work to support the family. She asks Mr. Johnston how he can "in good conscience, support a company that provides such a deadly product," and asked if he had the courage to respond to her. A search of RJR's documents failed to reveal any written response from Mr. Johnson to the woman who wrote this letter.

Text:

December 7, 1990 Mr. James W. Johnston R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company P. O. Box 2959 Winston-Salem, North Carolina 27102-2959 Dear Mr. Johnston: I am in receipt of your holiday card and gift certificate coupons for $1.00 addressed to my husband, Ken Iverson. I would like you to know that my husband, who is 44 years old, is now dying of lung cancer. He will Ieave me a with two children, one of whom is only 11 years old. We have incurred thousands of dollars in medical costs over the past year due to surgery, last-ditch chemotherapy and radiation therapy. He requires 24 hour per day care, which leaves me unable to work and support our family. How can you, in good conscience, work and support a company that provides such a deadly product? Do you have the courage to answer this letter? My telephone number is 608-273-2769. Very truly yours, Linda Iverson, 43 years old, mother of two children, taking care of a dying husband

Company/Source: R.J. Reynolds Document Date: 07 Dec 1990 Length: 1 page Bates No. 507668146 URL: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/ttb24d00