Tobacco and Public Health - TCSC Indonesia

Table 3.3 Selected cigarette advertising slogans, early twentieth century a
1929 [Chesterfield] ‘MILD … and yet THEY SATISFY’
LYNN T. KOZLOWSKI AND RICHARD J. O’CONNOR 45
1929 [Lucky Strike ® ] ‘20,679 physicians have confirmed the fact that Lucky Strike
is less irritating in the throat than other cigarettes’
1936 [Philip Morris] ‘… tests proved conclusively that after changing to Philip
Morris, every case of irritation due to smoking cleared completely or
definitely improved’
1937 [Camel ® ] ‘They’re so mild and never make my throat harsh or rough’
1938 [Viceroy ® ] ‘Viceroy’s filter neatly checks the throat-irritants in tobacco … Safer
smoke for any throat. Inhale without discomfort’
1943 [Viceroy ® ] ‘… filtering the flavor and aroma of the world’s finest tobaccos
into the smoothest of blends and checking OUT resins, tar and throat
irritants that can spoil the EVENNESS of smoking enjoyment!’
1946 [Camel ® ] ‘More Doctors Smoke Camels Than Any Other Cigarette’
aThe slogans come from various sources, including: Lewine (1970), Harris (1978), Sobel (1978), Mullen (1979),
Glantz et al. (1996).
as ‘pleasantness’, ‘mildness’, ‘tastiness’, or ‘mellowness’ evoke ‘goodness’, which is a
hyponym for ‘healthful’. If something is ‘mild’, ‘mellow’, or ‘Light’, it is unlikely to be
‘unhealthful’. The health issue does not need to be engaged directly, because evoking
the semantic networks associated with taste and satisfaction can be enough to influence
the consumer’s thinking that the cigarette isn’t so bad.
Some words or phrases, called tropes, are used in a non-literal way that still carries
important meaning (Bloom 1975). In the current case, ‘light’, ‘smooth’, ‘mild’ are all
tropes that carry meanings for consumers: less irritating, less risky, less deadly. Those
in the industry, and their supporters, often claim that Light labels are justified because
Lights actually deliver less tar to machines than ‘full-flavors’. However, humans do not
smoke like machines. Smokers generally believe that tar numbers reflect what they are
inhaling, and that lower-tar cigarettes are safer (see Rickert et al. 1989; Giovino et al.
1996). Surveys of American smokers show that 39 per cent (n = 360) of Light and 58
per cent (n = 218) of Ultra-light smokers state that they smoke their brands to reduce the
risks of smoking (Kozlowski et al. 1998b). A Light cigarette, to the consumer, must seem
similar to Light ice cream, or Light beer—indicating that they are actually ingesting
less of something (fat or calories in the cases of ice cream and beer, tar in the case of
cigarettes). The meaning of Light as ‘lower standard tar yield’ is only a ‘technical truth’
that should not carry assumptions about reduced risk [cf. P. Lorillard Co. v.FTC
(1950)]. Light is also a trope referring to ‘more pure’ and ‘not as dangerous’ (and literally,
‘not heavy’). It makes implicit health and safety claims. Groups in both the United
States, and Canada have called for a ban on Light descriptors (National Cancer
Institute 2001; Ministerial Advisory Council on Tobacco Control 2002).