Statement from
the San Francisco Tobacco Free Coalition
Re: Big Tobacco's Use of California Names, Imagery, and Icons in Tobacco
Advertising Abroad
February 19, 2003
Big Tobacco exploits and abuses imagery from California to hook smokers
outside of the U.S. We've seen the internationally recognized Golden Gate
Bridge, the postcard icon of San Francisco, used in ads in the Czech Republic
to sell L&M cigarettes made by Philip Morris/Altria. And to promote
their Parliament cigarettes, Philip Morris/Altria's ads feature the Golden
Gate Bridge as it beckons to new and current smokers in Asian countries.
The San Francisco Tobacco Free Coalition strongly objects to the use of
California and San Francisco images in promoting deadly tobacco products,
particularly given California's leadership role in tobacco control.
Meanwhile, Hollywood
continues to turn out films that are popular worldwide and show famous
actors and actresses smoking gratuitously. Smoking in the movies increased
dramatically in the 1990s, where movie stars are 4 times more likely to
smoke in films compared to the U.S. population. British American Tobacco/Rothman's
profits from this by promoting "Hollywood" cigarettes that depict
the smoker with the imagined "American" lifestyles and values
promoted in these films.
The San Francisco
Tobacco Free Coalition joins Essential Action in calling on the U.S. to
support a comprehensive global tobacco advertising ban as part of the
FCTC.
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