English 2010

Professor Helquist
Assignment 5
Proposal
Smoking: Who decides? Us or Them?



Who decided this was an option in life? The youth of our world have a vast array of healthy,
positive and purposeful life style ideals placed at their feet. All ahead of them for the taking, yet
smoking is a choice? My point being: Smoking is not a natural or healthy choice. So, who do you
ask is touting smoking as the prime choice for our youth?
Big tobacco companies, such as R.J. Reynolds, producer of Camel cigarettes. They are one
among several tobacco companies who manufacture cigarettes, plague our youth and our world
by encouraging an addiction to Nicotine. The tobacco industry is keenly interested in marketing
to our children. Creating, falsely a notion of children and smoking going hand in hand, purely to
ensure a profitable market share and a strong profit margin.
R.J. Reynolds
Tobacco Company (RJR) based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and founded by R. J.
Reynolds in 1875 (1), is the second- largest tobacco company in the United States (behind the
Altria Group). R. J. R, is the indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Reynolds American Inc.
Which in turn is 42% owned by British American Tobacco, of The United Kingdom
(Wikipedia.org/wiki/R_J._ Reynolds_ tobacco_ company).




In 2002 the company, (RJR), was fined $$$ 15 million dollars for handing out free cigarettes at
events attended by children. In addition to these fines, R. J. Reynolds was fined another $$ 20
million for breaking the 1998 Master Agreement, which restricted targeting youth in its tobacco
advertisements (10), (Google.com).




Tobacco companies are slick. Joe Camel is a swanky trademark, instantly recognized by a wide
range of all age demographics. The fact that stands out however, is how animated and cool or
hip Joe camel youthfully and playfully comes across. These strategies are used to prey upon
the youth. The fact is, at the end of the day, there is nothing hip, cool, or playful about
smoking.


Young people are impressionable, interested in new, fun, and yes, cool ideas and experiences.
There lies the trap or lure into the spider web of smoking...Smoking by itself is not thrilling or
pleasant. Full confession, I have tried to smoke. Yes, because I foolishly longed with desire to
fit in and be cool. Or be like that older, sophisticated, cool girl I so admired. And there you
have it! There is that trap. Created by youthful innocence, fueled full throttle by peer pressure.
Fortunately for me, the habit didnt take. Turn out I hated smoking! The best I could manage was
to just happen to have the handy pack of reds (Marlboro Reds) in my purse. Enough to share
with my peers if the important question should come up, do you have a smoke? Hence another
fact, smoking is a social activity. Clubs, parties, weddings, funerals, etc..
All are occasions for socializing and smoking.

Cigarette companies have multiple strategies for creating interest and intrigue in cigarettes.

Tobacco companies know children love fun, yummy treats. And children model their parents
behavior because they want to be just like them when they grow up. Producing candy, in the
form of peppermint cigarettes, is one answer to the problem of maintaining the all important
margin.

Todays teenager is tomorrows potential regular customer, and the overwhelming majority
of smokers first begin to smoke while still in their teens.
-Philip Morris, 1981 (Yesmoke.ev/big-
tobacco/young-adult-smokers/)
I remember those candy cigarettes because I ate those as a child. My friends and I would buy
them at 7-11, while our parents or some other adults purchased their real cigarettes. Our
pretend cigarettes were minty fun. And then we were included in the social cigarette loop too.
By itself smoking is not at all pleasant. Inhaling a lung full of smoke is not at all natural or fun.
In fact, truth be told, it hurts. Smoking causes your lungs to gasp for air, burns your throat and
makes you nauseous and miserable. Smoking that cigarette is merely the vehicle for the real
issue. Smoking is the way Nicotine can enter your body and cause you to become physically and
psychologically addicted by a chemical substance that rivals heroin and cocaine.

Cigarette smoking allows Nicotine to hit the blood stream, immediately travels to the brain in
a matter a matter of seconds (10, National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet). Nicotine is highly
addictive. In fact it is as addictive as heroin and cocaine. ( National Cancer Institute,
www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/tobacco/cessation.
There is simply nothing logical that backs up why anyone needs to smoke. No reason
whatsoever, other than financial gain. I cant walk around my college campus without smelling
cigarette smoke or notice someone with a can of Copenhagen in their back pockets. Its a strange
situation if you really consider one fact: Cancer. Smoking is the highest significant contributor
for lung cancer in men and women alike.
Another point you cant ignore, its expensive. An average pack of cigarettes is $8.50. A can of
chew is roughly just over $6.00 per can. And that is only the tip of the iceberg for the expense
list brought on by a nicotine addiction. Because that is what the essence truly is, an addiction.
Simple as that. Tobacco companies are habitual in their attempts to promote tobacco
consumption. E cigarettes (smokeless tobacco) are another extension. Taking the second hand
smoke out of the picture is just a smoke in the mirrors tactic. The real culprit is nicotine and
that is the butter on their bread for tobacco companies such as R. J. Reynolds, based in Winston-
Salem, North Carolina and founded by R. J. Reynolds in 1875.
The whole point with tobacco companies is to keep them coming back for more. And in the
above mentioned companies case, its been working since 1875.
I know when I was growing up I would never have thought that these health risks are truth and
cigarettes should be unavailable for everyone. But when you consider how the youth are so
impressionable and willing to give it a try, just to fit in if nothing else, its pretty scary.
Big tobacco companies are not backing off in any way, nicotine is morphing into a new style for
the new younger generations. Anything to make nicotine available to people and protect their
margins for these huge companies is in fact what is currently happening.
I notice people of all ages walking around with a smokeless pipe. Its another vehicle to sweep
up as many consumers as possible into a negative cycle of hopeless addiction. These companies
have no shame. They have even involved Santa Claus in their loop of deception.






Tobacco companies such as R. J. Reynolds know the truth of the matter. Luring a younger
person into the smoking web, followed by a lifelong addiction to Nicotine, will create that
customer, that essential demand, well into Sixty years of age.

Smoking and smokeless tobacco use are initiated and established primarily during
adolescence, (1, 2, 3,). Nearly 9 out of 10 smokers started by age 18, and 99% started by age
26(1, 2, 3, 4,).
-www.cdc.gov/tobacco/data_statistics/fact_sheets/youth_data/tobacco_use/

Everyone needs pure water to drink, good food to nourish our body, but the truth is- we dont
need to smoke tobacco. The tobacco industry is aware of this fact. Tobacco companies would
like all of us to use or a better word, need their product, due to a Nicotine dependency. But no
one does. Smoking is not a requirement for living a healthy and meaningful life.
The fact is without people becoming dependent on cigarettes, big tobacco companies will perish.
How can they protect the margin, when there are no customers who desire to purchase their
product? No customers, potential nicotine addictions to be fed, remove the concern for a profit
margin.
Just as the path to smoking addiction starts at very young ages (campaign for tobacco-free kid
pdf.) The idea that smoking is an option in life really needs to change. As consumers, thanks to
technology, we currently know more than previous generations.
Collectively, those who are dealing with a Nicotine addiction and wanting to come out from
underneath this oppressive, monster grip, wresting match struggle, need to be embraced.
Addiction is not a social activity. The happy, fun, cool, aspect of smoking that initially lures us
all in, is replaced with a lonely, nagging, beast of a monster, dictating our daily lives. There is no
shame in addiction. An individual facing the challenge of quitting smoking has my sympathy and
understanding.
Scare tactics just wont work for everyone. Having the addiction to Nicotine is scary enough.
Nicotine is the real problem here and I feel there are better ways of addressing this issue.
I propose taking the shame out of addiction, because all that does is create the idea that smoking
has so much influence and control over the individual. I feel communicating and reaching out is
an option. Making it okay to talk about the fact that Nicotine is an addictive substance.
Everyone has a different personality and an individual set of ideals and values. I cant help but
think taking on an addiction to Nicotine is very challenging. Not impossible. Quitting is going to
suck, for lack of a better word. So embrace the suck (Professor James Dykman, SLCC, fall
semester, Anthropology, 2013). Take it on and allow for transparency and openness. Let other
know what will need to happen. Talk it over when you can. No one has to fight addiction alone.
Unless, of course, they want to fight the battle alone. The Nicotine monster is only ugly if its
allowed to lurk in the shadows. Let it out I say! Allow others in and share experiences. That is
what life is all about, the experiences.
Bridgette Taylor





















In Memory of Daniel Stilinovich:

Dad




Works Cited

AD/photo R.J. Reynolds: Camel Cigarettes; Young girl/cigarette

Digitalforsyth.org/R.J. Reynolds/Tobacco factory

Wikipedia.org/ wiki/R_J._ Reynolds_tobacco_company

Google .com: Ad, Joe Camel

www.cdc.gov/ tobacco/data statistics/ Fact_sheets/ youth_data/ tobacco use/