I was enjoying a lovely day off moment with my kiddos playing in the yard and trying to peruse a non-healthcare related magazine when the following ad popped up in front of me.
I stared at it and honestly was blown away again at the shamelessness of Big Tobacco. This ad in particular incorporated the whole spectrum of corruption, from the unapologetic appropriation of Native American imagery to pretending to care about the planet to the unending suggestion that there is some “safe” way to light a cigarette on fire and inhale it into your lungs. This company was founded by a non-smoking white profiteer and is currently owned by Big Tobacco. I have testified about tobacco mitigation efforts, and there is inevitably a lobbyist of some kind from tobacco, always very appealing, slick, sympathetic, DEFINITELY flying in a nicer class and driving a fancier car, there to talk about how it is so important that we “mitigate harm” with whatever new approach they are using- from “natural” and “organic” cigarettes to vaping or whatever the new thing is. I have watched these grifters twist the #BlackLivesMatter movement (see Senator Linthicum’s memo on tobacco taxes as the root cause of Eric Garner’s death) to harm reduction techniques (“vape! It’s safer! and, um, you need gummy flavors for some reason.? Don’t ask questions. Harm reduction!”)
More accurate description courtesy of Bloomberg news.
Here is the non-Native non-smoking white profiteer who appropriated Native American culture to convince people that there is some “natural” tobacco that is safe to light on fire and inhale in the lungs. Don’t be fooled. This company is owned by Big Tobacco. They are making money on addicting children and sickening and killing our communities.
Perhaps these grifters have never held a mom in their arms who has newly diagnosed Stage IV lung cancer, sobbing that she will not see her middle school child graduate high school. Maybe they haven’t had to hold the hand of a wife and mother in the ICU with her husband on life support, wondering why he keeps choosing cigarettes over his family. I have. It sucks. None of this is “cool” or “natural.”
To anyone working for/with tobacco. Pick a new career.
For anyone considering inhaling these cigarettes as a “safer” alternative. Don’t light things on fire and breathe them into your lungs. Ask your primary care physician about how to quit if you are already addicted. Check out the American Lung Association or QuitNow for resources.
