Tobacco

"Chicago" Wins Hackademy Award

by Sheldon Rampton — March 19, 2003 - 11:00pm

The movie musical "Chicago" may be in line for the Best Picture award at this year's Oscars, but it gets a "Thumbs Down" Hackademy Award from the American Lung Association (ALA) for its numerous scenes involving cigarette or cigar smoking. Two of the main stars of the movie smoke regularly throughout the film. Catherine Zeta-Jones smokes even while dancing, even though very few women actually smoked during the period when the movie was set.

Main Source: 
Reuters, March 20, 2003

Big Tobacco Claims 1st Amendment Right to Lie, Deceive and Kill

by John Stauber — March 17, 2003 - 11:00pm

"The Justice Department is demanding
that the nation's biggest cigarette makers be ordered to
forfeit $289 billion in profits derived from a half-century
of fraudulent and dangerous marketing practices. Citing new evidence, the Justice Department asserts ... the major
cigarette companies are running what amounts to a criminal
enterprise by manipulating nicotine levels, lying to their
customers about the dangers of tobacco and directing their
multibillion-dollar advertising campaigns at children. ...

Main Source: 
New York Times, March 18, 2003

Fighting the Smoke Ban

by Laura Miller — February 17, 2003 - 11:00pm

As in the United States, the tobacco industry has been using hotels and restaurants to front for its interests in Canada. "One of the key tools cigarette manufacturers used in this effort was the Courtesy of Choice campaign, a worldwide public-relations effort that grew out of a partnership between Philip Morris's Accommodation Program and the International Hotel Association," writes David Rodenhiser. "Courtesy of Choice aimed to head off government legislation by championing non-smoking sections and ventilation systems as a better solution.

Main Source: 
Halifax Daily News, February 18, 2003

Chilean Baritone Sings the Praises of British-American Tobacco

by Sheldon Rampton — February 4, 2003 - 11:44pm

Not everyone enjoyed "British-American Tobacco's Socially Responsible Smoke Screen," our article from the last issue of PR Watch that examined BAT's social reporting process. Eugenio Rengifo, a baritone with a Chilean band, emailed us a stinging letter, calling the article a "joke. Do you really believe in what you wrote about this?" But Eugenio the baritone didn't bother to inform us that he was also a PR executive with BAT's Chilean subsidiary.

Main Source: 
http://www.prwatch.org/forum/showthread.php?postid=2682

BAT Kills Millions, But in a Socially Responsible Manner

by John Stauber — January 8, 2003 - 11:19am

Bob Burton and Andy Rowell deconstruct the "social responsibility report" of British American Tobacco, the world's second largest tobacco company, in the latest PR Watch. Among their findings, "BAT's social report disclosed that three of its employees had been killed and 37 involved in serious accidents during 2001, but omitted any estimate of the number of people who had been killed or seriously affected by consuming its products. ...

Main Source: 
http://www.prwatch.org/prwissues/2002Q4/bat.html

Pentagon, Seeking Propaganda Advantage, Says It Will Give Press Better Battlefield Access

by John Stauber — December 27, 2002 - 11:00pm

In each war and military action since losing in Vietnam, the US military has exerted increased control and censorship over battlefield reporting. Now the Pentagon claims to be changing its ways, in part to gain a propaganda advantage. According to the New York Times, "military officials said in interviews
that limits on access to frontline units ... would be loosened if President Bush ordered
military action. The Pentagon has made similar pledges of greater access
before without making good on the promise.

Main Source: 
New York Times, December 28, 2002

Tobacco Science in Japan

by Sheldon Rampton — December 13, 2002 - 11:00pm

Following the publication of an influential 1981 Japanese study linking secondhand cigarette smoke to lung cancer, the tobacco industry went on the attack, funding its own study to counter the Hirayama study. "The goal of the study was to produce a credible, peer reviewed article that could be used as a public relations tool," report Mi-Kyung Hong and Lisa A. Bero.

Main Source: 
British Medical Journal, December 14, 2002

Tobacco at the Movies

by Sheldon Rampton — October 29, 2002 - 10:37am

Despite a 1998 multi-state tobacco settlement banning tobacco companies from marketing directed toward children and banning payments to place tobacco products in films, tobacco use in the most popular youth-oriented movies has increased by 50 percent, according to a new report. "Tobacco at the Movies" highlights the health risks to children, who are susceptible to the subtle message sent by famous actors and actresses using tobacco on the big screen.

Main Source: 
http://www.pirg.org/alerts/route.asp?id2=8330%20

Philip Morris Uses "Account Masking"

by Sheldon Rampton — October 12, 2002 - 9:04am

In an effort to distance itself from the stench of its reputation as the world's worst tobacco company, Philip Morris recently changed its name to "Altria." To guard the new name against parodies, the company then sneakily bought up the domain name registration for "AltriaSucks.com." Bret Fausett,
an Internet watcher interested in legal issues, discovered that AltriaSucks.com was registered to "Account Masking," which turns out to be a special service offered by Register.com available only to customers t

Main Source: 
http://www.lextext.com/icann/november2001.html

The Pitch by Big Tobacco

by Sheldon Rampton — August 31, 2002 - 10:00pm

Columnist Steve Barnes describes his chat with David Howard, a "very nice young gentleman" who flacks for R.J. Reynolds. The Arkansas state legislature is considering an increase in cigarette excise taxes, and Howard belongs to a "cadre of public relations specialists with the seemingly impossible job of persuading the 75 percent of Arkansans who do not smoke cigarettes that the 25 percent who do should not pay more for their habit."

Main Source: 
The Morning News (Arkansas), September 1, 2002
Syndicate content