Jump to full article: Fort Wayne (IN) Journal-Gazette, 2008-01-14
Author: Michael Schroeder The Journal Gazette
Intro: Want to know whether smoking is bad for you? Just ask Big Tobacco.
The "overwhelming medical consensus" shows that smoking causes lung cancer, heart disease and many other health conditions, said Bill Phelps of Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris USA.
"The risks of smoking are well-known," echoed David Howard, a spokesman for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in Winston-Salem, N.C., adding that there's no safe cigarette. . . .
Since a landmark 1998 industry settlement involving 46 states, including Indiana, tobacco companies have amplified their warnings about the products they sell and provided information on how to quit. But smoking-cessation advocates think the billions of advertising dollars the industry spends send a decidedly different message to potential consumers, especially to low-income populations.
"This particular demographic is targeted very heavily by the tobacco industry with their marketing and promotions," said Karla Sneegas, executive director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.
A 2004 report in the journal Tobacco Control cites Philip Morris documents that detail advertisements in the 1990s aimed at women making less than $30,000 a year. The same study documents R.J. Reynolds' intention to similarly target working-class women. Case studies in St. Louis and Boston published in the journal show a higher concentration of tobacco advertising and greater concentration of stores in poorer districts.
Cessation officials like Sneegas say that's just the tip of the iceberg.
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