draughn@iitmax.IIT.EDU (Mark Draughn) (01/17/90)
In article <9001160300.AA17533@cds709.noble.com> pete@cadence.com (Pete Zakel) writes: > >Jimmy Carter (I believe) has said that American cigarettes kill far more >Columbians than Columbian cocaine kills Americans. > What an interesting statistic! Can anybody furnish references or proof? I would love to use it, but I wouldn't want to be caught if it turned out to be wrong. So, does anybody have the relevant mortalitiy and market share statistics? Or maybe a reference to a reliable source? Thanks, -- EMAIL: draughn@iitmax.iit.edu+--------------+ Academic Computing Center BITNET: SYSMARK@IITVAX | Mark Draughn | 10 W. 31st St. VOICE: +1 312 567 5962 +--------------+ Illinois Institute of Technology ALSO: ...{nucsrl|att}!iitmax!draughn Chicago, Illinois 60616
behm@zds-ux.UUCP (Brett Behm) (01/18/90)
In article <9001160300.AA17533@cds709.noble.com>, pete@cadence.com (Pete Zakel) writes:
* [In Summary] That cigarette companies lie in their advertising, they are
* targeting ads at young smokers, warning labels are unreadably small, deny
* that smoking causes any health risks, caused Japan to smoke more, and
* finally " The tobacco industry can spend far more money on propoganda than
* the US can on tobacco education. In a head to head battle, guess which
* one wins."
But guess what Pete, according to the Wall Street Journal (Can't remember
the date, but it was posted here) that domestic cigarette consumption has been
declining at about 3% a year - kind-of blows the advertising/consumption
correlation theory. Does anyone really need to read a label to figure out
smoking is bad for your health?
So what if their advertising is misleading -
like advertising of any product is entirely factual. If someone has
not yet figured out that smoking is harmful, then they have more to fear
than what effects smoking may cause them. My theory is that "social
trends" among peers dictate consumption. This is equally as unsupported
with data as the advertising theory is, so with that in mind, I will
not develop any cause/effect relationships.
Brett Behmjonm@microsoft.UUCP (Jonathan MARK) (01/18/90)
An interesting article about cigarette advertising appeared
in this week's Seattle Times:
CIGARETTE, BEER LOGOS IN GAMES
Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Signs advertising Marlboro cigarettes and
Budweiser beer are appearing in children's video arcade games,
outraging doctors who are trying to reduce smoking by teen-agers.
Sega of America, maker of the games, said the logos' inclusion
was "simply a game designer's innocent attempt to mimic real-life
locations."
One game, Super Monaco GP, includes buildings in which all
the windows have been replaced by the Marlboro logo. Other Sega
games using the logos are Hang On and Power Drift.
Dave Rosen, co-chairman of Sega's board, said in the
statement that "there is absolutely no form of paid or
intentional advertising displayed in any of Sega's arcade or
consumer video games."
The company said it was removing the logos.
Philip Morris, which makes Marlboro cigarettes, and Anheuser
Busch, the maker of Budweiser, said they had not authorized the
use of their brand names or logos. Philip Morris has asked Sega
to recall the games.
Tobacco companies have been known to pay large sums for
mention of their products. Philip Morris, for example, paid
$350,000 for the placement of Lark cigarettes in the James Bond
film "License to Kill," released last summer.
"Super Monaco GP is essentially one big Marlboro ad," said
Dr. John Richards of the Medical College of Georgia, who has
investigated the video logos.
"A child playing Super Monaco GP is exposed to literally
hundreds of Marlboro ads during the game, if he's good."
Richards, president of Doctors Ought to Care, an anti-smoking
group, wrote last month in a letter of complaint to the Federal
Trade Commission.
The commission, which regulates advertising, wouldn't say
whether it was investigating the practice.
Smoking kills 350,000 Americans each year, and 90 percent of
smokers start in their teens, said Dr. Ronald Davis, director of
the Office on Smoking and Health of the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control.
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Comments: it sounds to me as if Sega and Philip Morris are lying.
On the other hand, they might not have intended to target their
advertising at children (although I wouldn't put it past them) --
such driving-skill games are very often found in bars, and the
advertising might have been meant for adult bar patrons.
Jonathan
All statements in this posting are stated by me personally, not
my employer.