The DOJ has released fourteen “corrective statements” that it thinks tobacco companies should have to put in its new advertising campaign. They include such marketing gold as “Here’s the truth: … Smoking kills 1,200 Americans. Every day,” as well as “”For decades, we denied that we controlled the level of nicotine delivered in cigarettes,” and “We control nicotine delivery to create and sustain smokers’ addiction, because that’s how we keep customers coming back.” But stops just short of, “We kill you for the money.” Did we mention that the DOJ would also like the companies to set up and pay for the campaign?
The suggested statements are part of a twelve-year-old lawsuit against the tobacco industry. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler approved the proposal for the public record, but still hasn’t decided whether the wording is final or where the print and broadcast ads should be placed. May we request the same advertising company that did those anti-soda ads with the globules of fat pouring into a plastic cup? We sat across one on the C train the other day and couldn’t look away.
