Philip Morris Philanthropy Counter Arguments Overview

VENEER OF UNDESERVED LEGITIMACY.

By accepting tobacco industry money, organizations give Philip Morris a veneer of undeserved legitimacy by allowing it to be associated with children or education. The company will use this legitimacy to pretend it is part of the solution, rather than the cause of the problem. This will allow Philip Morris to portray itself as a responsible company while it simultaneously continues its marketing practices which attract and addict children and opposes needed oversight of its behavior.

CLIMBING OUT OF PARIAH STATUS.

Philip Morris and other tobacco companies, widely perceived to have deceived the public and policy makers for decades, recognize that legitimacy is the key to the success so they can climb out of pariah status and achieve acceptability.

A HISTORY OF PR CAMPAIGNS INSTEAD OF PROTECTING KIDS.

This is not the first time tobacco companies have launched a massive public relations campaign to convince the American public, Congress and other policymakers that it can be trusted with America’s children. In the past Philip Morris has used these efforts to resist fundamental change  just as they are doing now. As long ago as 1964, in response to growing public knowledge of the dangers of smoking, the industry adopted an Advertising Code that prohibited advertising that suggests smoking is essential to “social prominence, distinction, or sexual attraction. From the rugged Marlboro Cowboy to the fun-loving Newport Couple, this code has been regularly violated for over three decades. In the 1980s, again under regulatory pressure, the industry launched programs that emphasized decision-making for kids rather than warning them of tobacco’s health dangers. A study in the Journal of Family Practice found that the “Helping Youth Say No” program could actually encourage youth smoking by its suggestion that tobacco use is an adult activity.

CONFLICT BETWEEN PROTECTING CHILDREN AND ADDICTING CHILDREN.

There is a fundamental conflict of interest between organizations and institutions committed to child welfare and Philip Morris, which knows that nearly 90 percent of all smokers become regular smokers at or before age 18. The future of this company depends on its ability to attract new generations of customers.

THE SUCCESS OF TOBACCO COMPANIES AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IS NEITHER AN ACCIDENT NOR A MYSTERY.

Philip Morris’s advertising icons, the Marlboro Cowboy and the Virginia Slims Woman, represent the ideals of American youth. The company has spent  and continues to spend  billions of dollars promoting these powerful images of freedom, independence, virility, glamour and thinness in order to sell a lethal product that addicts the vast majority of its customers as teenagers, on average, at age 14 ½. Although tobacco companies publicly deny that any of their marketing efforts are directed at children, documents released in the course of litigation show that these companies have long recognized that their growth and future potential are directly related to their success in attracting teenagers. It comes as no surprise that the Marlboro brand alone attracts 60 percent of all youth smokers, both boys and girls.

SHOWING TOBACCO’S DEVASTATION IS KEY TO PREVENTION.

A key element of successful tobacco prevention is demonstrating the full magnitude of the addiction, disease, economic damage and other harms caused by smoking and passive smoking, and the shameful marketing practices and ethics of Philip Morris and other tobacco companies. These aspects have been found to be critically important in the successful state programs in Florida, California and Massachusetts, but have been absent from tobacco industry-funded programs. Will tobacco-funded prevention programs be allowed by their new partners to follow this path? Of course not.

PM EVEN GETS TAX BREAKS FOR DONATIONS!

Donations to educational institutions and other non profits provide the tobacco industry with tax deductions and good publicity. The public sees the industry as well intentioned and generous, and the industry becomes cloaked with a veneer of respectability.
 

4-H COUNCIL

CONFLICT BETWEEN BEING ENTRUSTED WITH KIDS’ PROTECTION AND ADDICTING KIDS.

There is a fundamental conflict of interest between an organization committed to child welfare, and tobacco companies, which remain committed to selling ever-increasing numbers of cigarettes, which they can do only by addicting youth smokers. Tobacco companies know 90 percent of new smokers start by age 18.

REPUTABLE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ASSOCIATE THEIR GOOD NAMES AND REPUTATIONS WITH PHILIP MORRIS AND OTHER TOBACCO COMPANIES ARE CAUSING TWO UNFORTUNATE PROBLEMS:

1)The are helping to enhance the images of these companies so they can maintain the status quo. 2) They are diminishing their own hard-earned reputations in the bargain.

4-H SENDS MIXED ETHICAL MESSAGE TO KIDS.

By partnering with Philip Morris, the Council sends a dangerously mixed message to America’s youth about ethics, money and integrity. The need to model ethical behavior in choosing associations and in avoiding conflicts of interest is especially important in programs that serve and educate our youth.

STRINGS ARE ATTACHED!

Despite statements to the contrary, Philip Morris’s funding for the tobacco prevention program is not without “strings attached.” Philip Morris representatives sit on the program design committee creating the 4-H tobacco prevention program.

STRONG ALTERNATIVES TO PHILIP MORRIS FUNDING EXIST.

Every state will receive millions of dollars every year as its share of the state tobacco lawsuit settlements, which will pay the states more than $240 billion over the next 25 years. Since the companies settled with the states to avoid further health-related liability lawsuits, most people feel the settlement money should be spent for tobacco prevention programs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that each state allocate a substantial portion of its tobacco settlement funds toward that goal. State legislatures are deciding how to spend the money, and organizations can certainly lobby on behalf of settlement funds for tobacco prevention so states will have independent, comprehensive programs that work.

SHOWING TOBACCO’S DEVASTATION IS KEY TO PREVENTION

A key element of successful tobacco prevention is demonstrating the full magnitude of the addiction, disease, economic damage and other harms caused by smoking and passive smoking, and the shameful marketing practices and ethics of Philip Morris and other tobacco companies. These aspects have been found to be critically important in the successful state programs in Florida, California and Massachusetts, but have been absent from tobacco industry-funded programs. Will tobacco-funded prevention programs be allowed by their new partners to follow this path? Of course not.

PM EVEN GETS TAX BREAKS FOR DONATIONS!

Donations to educational institutions and other non profits provide the tobacco industry with tax deductions and good publicity. The public sees the industry as well intentioned and generous, and the industry becomes cloaked with a veneer of respectability.

THE SUCCESS OF TOBACCO COMPANIES AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IS NEITHER AN ACCIDENT NOR A MYSTERY.

Philip Morris’s advertising icons, the Marlboro Cowboy and the Virginia Slims Woman, represent the ideals of American youth. The company has spent  and continues to spend  billions of dollars promoting these powerful images of freedom, independence, virility, glamour and thinness in order to sell a lethal product that addicts the vast majority of its customers as teenagers, on average, at age 14 ½. Although tobacco companies publicly deny that any of their marketing efforts are directed at children, documents released in the course of litigation show that these companies have long recognized that their growth and future potential are directly related to their success in attracting teenagers. It comes as no surprise that the Marlboro brand alone attracts 60 percent of all youth smokers, both boys and girls.

PUBLIC SCHOOLS

CONFLICT BETWEEN MODELING GOOD BEHAVIOR AND ACCEPTING TOBACCO MONEY.

A core function of any educational system is to model proper behavior for the young people entrusted to it. By accepting tobacco money, public schools send a dangerously mixed message to their students: it’s bad to smoke cigarettes, but it is okay to take money from the very people who have done so much to addict young people to tobacco.

CONFLICT BETWEEN BEING ENTRUSTED WITH KIDS’ PROTECTION AND ADDICTING KIDS.

There is a fundamental conflict of interest between educational organizations, which are committed to child welfare, and tobacco companies, whose futures depend on a steady stream of children and teenagers entering into a lifelong addiction. Tobacco companies know 90 percent of new smokers start by age 18. Tragically, 3,000 American children become regular smokers every day; more than one-third of them will eventually die prematurely from tobacco-related illnesses. This makes participating with tobacco companies inescapable conflict of interest with any educational institution.

GIVE TOBACCO COMPANIES EASY LEGITIMACY.

These partnerships give the tobacco industry undeserved legitimacy and credibility by being associated with children and education. The companies will use this legitimacy to pretend they are part of the solution, rather than the cause of the problem. This allows them to continue their harmful marketing practices and avoid new regulations by arguing that they are taking care of the problem.

REPUTABLE ORGANIZATIONS THAT ASSOCIATE THEIR GOOD NAMES AND REPUTATIONS WITH PHILIP MORRIS AND OTHER TOBACCO COMPANIES ARE CAUSING TWO UNFORTUNATE PROBLEMS

1)They are helping to enhance the images of these companies so they can maintain the status quo. 2) They are diminishing their own hard-earned reputations in the bargain.

PM EVEN GETS TAX BREAKS FOR DONATIONS!

Donations to educational institutions and other non profit organizations provide the tobacco industry with tax deductions and good publicity. The public sees the industry as well intentioned and generous, and the industry becomes cloaked with a veneer of respectability.

PUBLIC EDUCATION IS ONE OF OUR SOCIETY’S MOST CRITICAL PUBLIC FUNCTIONS.

Do we really want an industry associated with addicting our youth to a lifetime of ill health to fund their tobacco prevention education?

STRONG ALTERNATIVES TO PHILIP MORRIS FUNDING EXIST FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

Every state will be receiving millions of dollars every year as its share of the state tobacco lawsuit settlements, which will pay the states more than $240 billion over the next 25 years. Since the companies settled with the states to avoid further health-related liability lawsuits, many people feel the settlement money should be spent for tobacco prevention programs. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that each state allocate a substantial portion of its tobacco settlement funds toward that goal. State legislatures are deciding how to spend the money, and public schools should lobby on behalf of settlement funds for tobacco prevention so states will have independent, comprehensive programs that work.

ALSO, THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDES FOR A FOUNDATION, CALLED THE AMERICAN LEGACY FOUNDATION

With an annual budget for public education of $300 million per year for the next five years or more. One function of the foundation is to develop and disseminate model classroom educational programs. However, it is expected that acceptance of tobacco money may preclude organizations from receiving funds from the new foundation.

SHOWING TOBACCO’S DEVASTATION IS KEY TO PREVENTION.

A key element of successful tobacco prevention is demonstrating the full magnitude of the addiction, disease, economic damage and other harms caused by smoking and passive smoking, and the shameful marketing practices and  ethics of Philip Morris and other tobacco companies. These aspects have been found to be critically important in the successful state programs in Florida, California and Massachusetts, but have been absent from tobacco industry-funded programs. Will tobacco-funded prevention programs be allowed by their new partners to follow this path? Of course not.

THE SUCCESS OF TOBACCO COMPANIES AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IS NEITHER AN ACCIDENT NOR A MYSTERY.

Philip Morris’s advertising icons, the Marlboro Cowboy and the Virginia Slims Woman, represent the ideals of American youth. The company has spent  and continues to spend  billions of dollars promoting these powerful images of freedom, independence, virility, glamour and thinness in order to sell a lethal product that addicts the vast majority of its customers as teenagers, on average, at age 14 ½. Although tobacco companies publicly deny that any of their marketing efforts are directed at children, documents released in the course of litigation show that these companies have long recognized that their growth and future potential are directly related to their success in attracting teenagers. It comes as no surprise that the Marlboro brand along attracts 60 percent of all youth smokers, both boys and girls.

K/Acc Proj Final/Bkgndr-PM Arguments 7-28-99