Today I have a post at Blogher about the new Camel No. 9 “Stiletto” smokes and the gross world of marketing cigs to teh womenz. And that was a lot of linking, so whew, me tired now.
More this weekend. It might even be hella domestical.
But FIRST, dopeness via Beloved Daniel.
Where can I meet some sick gents like this? I want to the delicious filling in a Cool Ice/camo sammich. The guy with the beard reminds me of Humpty.
I really enjoyed your article on blogher. Excellent writing and research.
I’m responding here, because if I register at Blogher (I don’t even know if I can) they’d ban me in about fifteen seconds… :)
It’s a delicate balance: How much control you want to give the nanny state over what you put in your own body and what you’re allowed to see/hear/etc for the “public good”
I tend to lean pretty heavily towards the personal responsibility end of the spectrum, where if someone finds such advertising offensive they should concentrate on starting a grassroots effort to nail the companies enabling such in their pocketbook (IE: boycotts of magazines that run cig ads aimed at minors, etc.) instead of asking the government to step in and run our lives for us. Banning blatant attempts to target kids doesn’t bother me (IE: They shouldn’t be running ads for cigs/beer/condoms during the Teletubbies) but, as an adult, I’m perfectly capable of deciding for myself which legal products I wish to partake of.
I choose to not smoke cigarettes because I know it’s addictive, destructive to my health, and nasty: not because big brother tells me I’m not allowed. I do enjoy a very occasional cigar. I know it’s bad for me, but I smoke one every couple of months anyway, just because I want to.
I’d rather make my own informed decisions. If that means I’ve decided that my personal pleasure outweighs the health risks, so be it. If I end up with mouth cancer, I won’t be blaming the government for not protecting me from myself (besides, it’s easy to smile when you don’t have lips!)
PS: Don’t take this as a “SJ thinks the feds should run our lives!” comment. I know otherwise, and I realize your post over at Blogher didn’t advocate that (in fact, I went pretty far off the track), but it kind of seemed like several of the folks in the comments were giving off that vibe.
I appreciate the feedback. You could register at Blogher, but it’s rigmarole, I understand.
Generally, I lean towards personal responsibility, but I get annoyed when ad companies target the young and impressionable…especially when those are often smokers for life. Or until death, however you want to look at it.
I agree with a lot of what you’re saying, I really do. I like grassroots boycotting as well, because I think it would be more effective in the long run. Thanks for taking the time to lay out such a thoughtful response, Mister.
Hi there, not sure that this is true, but thanks