Thu, 10 Nov 2005

Research finds cigarette manufacturers target youth market with candy flavored cigarette brands

Allow me to be the first to shout "Liar!" at these researchers. For the very documents they cite do not support their conclusion:

A 1993 [tobacco company] internal document stated, "Growing interest in new flavor sensations (i.e. soft drinks, snack foods) among younger adult consumers may indicate new opportunities for enhanced-flavor tobacco products that could leverage [a brand's] current strength among younger adult smokers."

Note that this doesn't say "We're adding candy to our cigarettes to entice teenage non-smokers to light up." It says: "We've noticed a trend toward weird flavors in junk food, so maybe adding a weird flavor to a cigarette would enhance brand loyalty in young adult smokers." Apparently our vaunted researchers can't read, or perhaps they simply assume that they know what the document really meant, regardless of what it actually said.

Yeah, that's probably it. I mean, this was such an obviously unbiased study. Just listen to the senior author talking about cigarettes:

Gregory Connolly, senior author of the study and a professor of the practice of public health at HSPH noted, "Tobacco companies are using candy-like flavors and high tech delivery devices to turn a blowtorch into a flavored popsicle, misleading millions of youngsters to try a deadly product. Adding candy flavors to a toxic product (cigarettes) isn't any different than adding sugar to contaminated meat a century ago. The only difference is that today one is regulated by the FDA and the other is not."

Hmmm, I wonder if the real purpose of this study is to persuade the FDA to regulate tobacco? Do you think the study would've come to a different conclusion if they'd found documents stating "We don't want kids to smoke." Probably not - we all know what liars the tobacco companies are, after all...

New research from the Harvard School of Public Health finds that cigarette makers are targeting young smokers with candy and liqueur-flavored new brands that mask the harsh and toxic properties found in tobacco smoke, and in one case, embedding a hidden flavor pellet within the filter.

(link) [EurekAlert!]

/Politics | 2 writebacks | permanent link

On 11/11/2005 08:50:14
Arwin wrote

Ignorant Design

On 11/11/2005 08:56:29
Dave H wrote

Indeed!

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