Friend -- or enemy --
to the little black dress?

Having long braced itself against snowballs of negativity following its sexy, sultry Camel No. 9 print campaigns, RJ Reynolds has announced its decision to cease print advertising in '08.

Spokeswoman Jan Smith called the cut "an effort by the company to enhance and sharpen the effectiveness and efficiency of its marketing programs."

Industry spectators, including Steve Hall at Adrants, appeared unconvinced by this logic.

"Obviously tobacco industry issues are in mind with every decision we make," added Smith.

"A result of this is there should be less controversy over cigarette advertising in magazines and newspapers, because we won't be doing it."

The news will prove a boon for representative Lois Capps (CA-D), who led a group of US reps demanding that women's magazines stop pushing the cigarette ads. Her aggressive stance initially met with apathy from the bigger titles, including Vogue and Glamour.