TUPELO, MS (EP) – Philip Morris/General Foods and RJR Nabisco are the top advertising sponsors of pornographic magazines, according to a study done by the American Family Association (AFA).

AFA studied companies supporting Playboy and Penthouse with advertising, and found that Philip Morris/General Foods placed 115 pages of advertising with those magazines in the year ending August of 1987. RJR Nabisco bought 92 pages during the same time period.

“At $50,000 per page, Philip Morris/General Foods supplied these publications with $5.75 million in one year, while RJR Nabisco spent $4.6 million in advertising money to support the publications,” said the Rev. Don Wildmon, the United Methodist minister who serves as executive director of AFA. “It is ironic that these two companies, which depend so heavily on the family for their income, would spend more than $10 million supporting two of the most anti-family publications in America.”

Wildmon noted that both publications are known for their advocacy of liberal drug policies; Playboy magazine has spent thousands of dollars in an effort to legalize drug use.

“It is incredible that with every purchase of Maxwell House coffees and Ritz crackers by family members, money is being provided to promote the anti-family porno and drug philosophies of these magazines.”

The bulk of advertising support for porn magazines comes from liquor and tobacco companies, according to AFA. Nearly all automobile makers have stopped advertising in pornographic magazines, with only Honda and Toyota appearing in the most recent AFA survey. Both Playboy and Penthouse have suffered serious circulation losses in the past three years – due in part to successful efforts to persuade convenience store chains not to stock the magazines – and have suffered losses in advertising revenue as a result.

“Without the advertising support of Philip Morris/General Foods and RJR Nabisco, these publications would be in very serious financial trouble,” Wildmon concluded.