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Secret Docs Show Tobacco Industry Influence in Black America

Posted Wednesday, November 20 @ 17:57:54 EST


Previously secret documents show that tobacco companies provided
money, cultivated social and political ties, and aggressively offered
free cigarettes to African American leadership groups –even as the
evidence grew that African Americans bear a disproportionate share of
the tobacco-related disease burden, researchers at the University of
California say.

From the University of California at San Francisco:


Secret Documents Reveal Tobacco Industry Influence

Previously secret documents show that tobacco companies provided
money, cultivated social and political ties, and aggressively offered
free cigarettes to African American leadership groups –even as the
evidence grew that African Americans bear a disproportionate share of
the tobacco-related disease burden.

UCSF researchers will present findings from a new study of the
internal tobacco industry documents at a press conference to be held
at 11 a.m. (PST), Wednesday, November 20, 2002 at the Hilton Hotel,
333 O'Farrell Street, SF, Union Square, Room 14 (Building 3, 4th
floor). The research appears in the December 2002 issue of the
journal Tobacco Control, published by the British Medical
Association.

Recipients of tobacco money included more than 60 African American
organizations, including the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People, the congressional Black Caucus, the National Black
Police Association, and the National Urban League, said UCSF
researchers.

"The combination of money, opportunities for cigarette sampling, and
shared board relationships between the tobacco industry and African
American leadership groups have all shaped tobacco's pervasive
presence in African American communities," said Valerie Yerger, MA,
ND, research associate in the UCSF School of Nursing and lead author
of the study. "Tobacco kills too many African Americans, particularly
elders. It's time to look at the true cost of accepting tobacco
money."

The study shows that tobacco industry representatives sought out
African American leaders to oppose policies restricting smoking in
public places and to circumvent laws and policies prohibiting
cigarette sampling in public schools and parks, said Yerger. In
addition, the industry relied heavily on African American leaders to
make the case that raising cigarette taxes hurt African Americans. To
accomplish this, tobacco industry representatives coordinated press
conferences and provided material for op-eds that appeared in the
black press, she said.

"Loyalty has limits," said Charyn Sutton, a nationally known tobacco
control advocate in the black community. "In balancing the damage
done by tobacco against the benefits of tobacco money and support,
the black community has lost far more than it has gained."

The press conference is sponsored by national leaders of the African
American tobacco control movement, including the Reverend Jesse Brown
Jr., executive director of the National Association of African
Americans for Positive Imagery, which spearheaded the successful
campaign against Uptown, a menthol cigarette created by R.J. Reynolds
that was to be marketed to the black community.

Senior author on the study is Ruth Malone, PhD, associate professor
in the UCSF School of Nursing. The study was funded by the California
Tobacco Related Disease Research Program and the National Cancer
Institute.

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among black folk, when/where I was growing up. It was something white kids did, burnouts, metal heads. It was definitely NOT the black thing to do.

And if we saw you, we'd sing that American Cancer Society/American Lung Association gingle that featured an early Robin Givens... "can't you see what you are, you're a drag yes you are, Dragon Lady."

Nat King Cole, Sugar ray robsinon, sammy davis, malcolm little, james baldwin, duke ellington, lady day...coletrane, miles...etc etc

obviously black folks been smokin...

HOWEVER, in the 80s at my high school, the only young people who smoked were white, had dyed black hair, wore Metallica t-shirts, ripped jeans, worked for stage crew, and we called them "burnouts" or "metalheads." Among folks I knew, they'd smoke reefer, boat, whatever you call it... but smoking cigarettes was considered white.

To me, it's not a black, white or celebrity thing.
It's an idividual with a deep mental and or emotional
problem that doesn't know how do deal/handle what
ever is going on in their lives at the prensent time.
I'm so tired of people saying what white and black
people do more of. As long as any person or people
do anything we are all guilty of it. It's when we
start catorgorizing, then we find what group of people
does more or what. We always say white people are the
craziest when it come to commiting grusome crimes, etc.
Then here comes two african amer. men who go on a shooting
spree. For what reason, we may never find out but they
obvioiusly were dealing with some deep enternal issues.
Instead of picking up a pack of ciggs. they decided to
to pick up their guns and return some folks back to the
dust!

Empty is the life that is filled with nothing but things

it must of been Newport who did this

i dont buy this shit. "secret documents" get the fuck outta here.

Sammy Jankis, I mean. Is this a Memento reference?

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Oooo baby I like it raw. Oooo baby I like it RAAAW!(c)ODB- Shimmy Shimmy Ya