Swelling Criticism of Philip Morris Book Covers January 8, 2001
News Summary
Education and health advocates throughout the United States are calling free book covers provided to schools by tobacco giant Philip Morris a violation of the 1998 ban on tobacco advertising to children, the Associated Press reported Jan. 4.The book covers feature children on snowboards and skis with the warning, "Don't Wipe Out. Think. Don't Smoke."
"The only intention with the covers is to help reduce the incidence of youth smoking," said Brendan McCormick, spokesman for Philip Morris.
McCormick said that the book covers were part of the company's smoking-prevention program. But critics complain that the covers contain subliminal smoking messages. Students and teachers throughout the U.S. have complained about the covers.
"The snowboard looks like a lit match. The clouds look like smoke. The mountains look like mounds of tobacco at an auction," said Gerald Kilbert, who directs the California Education Department's Healthy Kids Program. "The tobacco industry is still up to their old tricks of trying to attract children using different techniques."
Anti-smoking advocates are urging an investigation by state attorneys general. They claim the Philip Morris book covers are "promoting its brand name among schoolchildren," and the campaign "appears to be indirectly promoting tobacco products."
"It will take some fairly sophisticated analysis," said Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who oversees enforcement of the state tobacco agreement. "You are not dealing with direct messages but rather indirect and subliminal messages. The potential for a violation is there. Anytime you have material going into schools, you at least raise a red flag."
Philip Morris distributed 26 million free book covers last year to 43,000 schools throughout the country.
"The need isn't for Philip Morris to do anti-smoking campaigns," said Matt Myers, the top lawyer for the advocacy group Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "The need is for Philip Morris to stop doing advertising that makes its products more popular among children than any other brands. The book covers seek to make Philip Morris a credible messenger. That only enhances its traditional advertising."
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