The Long Road Ahead, The Long Road Behind...…are doomed to repeat it.

I’ve been on my high horse today about Big Tobacco trying to squirm out of facing responsibility for killing people. I do recognize my own responsibility of making the initial choice to try a sickarette. But I also feel it’s appropriate for BT to accept its role in making sure people stay “life long customers”.

So I looked something up on Answers.com about Big Tobacco and it’s interesting reading. Thought I would share it with you. There’s a lot of history preceeding this clip, mostly telling about how American and European cigarette manufacturing grew and eventually a monopoly of sorts was formed and subsequently broken up.

Then… (emphasis added below are my own)…

In 1913 the newly independent R.J. Reynolds launched Camels, the “first modern cigarette.” Camels were quickly imitated by American’s Lucky Strike and Liggett and Myers’ revamped Chesterfield cigarettes.  All three brands stressed their mildness and catered their appeal to men and women alike.  The 1920s saw the “conversion” of many tobacco consumers to the cigarette in the Unites States, United Kingdom, Europe, China, and Japan. Between 1920 and 1930, U.S. cigarette consumption doubled to 1,370 cigarettes per capita.

The article goes on to talk about how marketing played a vital role. I remember cigarette ads talking about how doctors preferred this over that brand, and how much better for you one cigarette was than another. I can’t tell you how strong an influence these clever ploys had over what was and wasn’t accepted.

The article continues:

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