The SmokeScreening of America
“Brokeback Mountain” notwithstanding, where have all those Marlboro
men gone? Back in the 1880s, when America’s cowpoke and plain folk
were legally swigging cocaine laced Coca-Cola, even the
pharmaceutical company Parke Davis got into the act with a cigarette
that combined nicotine and cocaine. That was then.
Targeted, Marketed and Packaged
On January 27,
2003, a year before the congressional tobacco company hearings, Altria
Group pulled off a marketing bonanza by becoming the umbrella
company for a family of companies. It’s now the ‘squeaky clean’ parent
of Kraft Foods, General Foods, Maxwell House, Jacobs Suchard (Kraft-
owned), Nabisco and other household brands including guess who? —
Philip Morris, the largest tobacco company in the United States;
manufacturer of Alpine, Basic, Benson & Hedges, Bristol, Bucks,
Cambridge, Chesterfield, Collector’s Choice, Commander, English
Ovals, Lark, L&M and Marlboro. Internationally, Philip Morris markets
seven of the top 20 global cigarette brands. Mid-twenties to mid-thirties
age groups are prime targets.
In April 1994 the Tobacco
Products Hearing was held before the House Subcommittee on Health
and the Environment. If you were watching, you saw seven barefaced
tobacco company CEOs, including the president of Philip Morris USA,
lie under oath that nicotine was not addictive. Oops! In January
1998 tobacco executives testified before Congress that “nicotine is
addictive under current definitions of the word and smoking may cause
cancer.”
Hiding in plain sight, cigarette mavens continue
their
promotional smokescreen by telling us “the company prides itself on
responsible marketing.”
Better Than Plastic Surgery
By aligning it with some of America’s best-known food companies,
Altria changed the identity of the leading cigarette brand in the world.
The
Marlboro product has not changed. Using it can still kill you. But we’re
supposed to feel warm and fuzzy because mom always had “good to the
last drop” Maxwell House in the pantry and creamy Kraft in the
refrigerator.
American Born–Bred For Export
Great
Britain has also banned cigarette advertising—sort of. Like all things
hideous, the Beast thrives underground. The London Observer
interviewed an expert on smoking, Dr. Gerard Hastings of Scotland’s
Stirling University. “The more subtle the message, the more likely it is to
be accepted,” says Hastings. “If you see something blatant, it forewarns
you. But if it’s something subliminal it will go under the radar.” Yes, like
the Stealth Bomber!
With tougher marketing restrictions,
Philip
Morris has had to use subtler venues to sell a package of Marlboro. In
some of Britain’s upscale bars and clubs for example, you might see
fashionable combinations of red and white in furniture, ashtrays and
other paraphernalia. Lounge areas might have comfy red sofas
positioned in front of videos showing westerns with leathery looking
cowboys. Subliminally, you crave a Marlboro.
Smoking
Guns Target Children
Here’s a direct quote from one of
Philip
Morris’s own research papers. “The sixteen to twenty-year-old begins
smoking for psychosocial reasons. The act of smoking is symbolic: It
signifies adulthood. He smokes to enhance his image in the eyes of his
peers.” FYI, studies showed Joe Camel (R.J. Reynolds) was as
recognizable to a six-year-old as Mickey Mouse.
After years
of
smoking research, noted physician, Joseph Roland DiFranza
discovered that nonsmoking children who believe smoking will make
them more popular are eight times more likely to say they intend to
smoke in the future. DiFranza says most smokers become addicted
when they are minors without understanding the long-term
consequences.
Addiction a Lifelong Struggle
In
a
January 25, 2006 New York Times front page story, “Still
Smoking in New York City,” staff writer Alan Feuer reported on Mayor
Michael Bloomberg’s intention to raise the city’s cigarette tax by 50
cents. “You raise your cigarette taxes, fewer children go and smoke,”
said the mayor. New York City smokers now pay a $3.00 tax per pack.
With a 50-cent tax rise, some brands will cost over $8.00 a pack. But
another 50 cents plus the likelihood of developing lung cancer or heart
disease still won’t deter those who are tragically hooked.
The Bottom Line
Philip Morris would like us to
believe they
care
about our health. They foster youth smoking prevention (see their
website). But how can a cigarette company, hiding under the radar of
benign popular food brands, pride itself on “responsible marketing”
when it admits smoking is addictive and can cause cancer? How can a
responsible company target young people to use its toxic habit-forming
product? Playing with the minds of minors who believe it’s cool to smoke
is like a sharpshooter taking calculated aim at a fawn.
“Simplicity-Courage-Humor-Soul”®
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