Manufacturers play a smaller role in the 50 or so smoking-related sites perused by the CME. The researchers found only three sites that actually advertised cigarettes--all in German. Not to worry. "Because of the ephemeral nature of the Web, content can change very rapidly," the authors assure us. "It is important to remember that, just because something is not there yet, doesn't mean it will never emerge." They also note (over and over again) that Brown & Williamson sponsors an online magazine called Circuit Breaker, promoted in ads for Lucky Strike, that offers free T-shirts (but makes no mention of cigarettes). In describing the other tobacco sites--which include magazines, personal homepages, and sites sponsored by smokers' rights groups--the authors repeatedly say that, while no industry connection is apparent, the possibility of secret support cannot be ruled out.
This obsession with corporate ties is odd, since it's clearly the message, not the messenger, that bothers Williams and her co-authors. "A pervasive online Smoking-Is-Cool culture has emerged on the World Wide Web which runs contrary to the prevailing attitudes among most Americans about smoking and health," they complain. "The smokers on the Web appear to have a strong sense of community. There are many links between the lifestyle sites and the pro-smoking organizations, so it is easy for a Web surfer to find one from the other."
A Web site devoted to clove cigarettes offers detailed information about the product's special hazards. As far as the authors are concerned, that's not good enough, because "this site also promotes clove cigarettes as sophisticated and exciting." It's "a good example of how the Web's ability to bring together far-flung people with like-minded interests can manifest as a troubling force. This site gives the few individuals who smoke clove cigarettes a forum for sharing their unique and dangerous habit." It's bad enough that dissidents dare to question "prevailing attitudes." But to have so many of them expressing their deviant views and freely associating with each other in cyberspace is just intolerable. Something must be done. We need effective safeguards.
The Smoker's Home Pageopens with a caveat: "WARNING! This page may be hazardous to anti-smokers' blood pressure. Quitting now may greatly reduce your chances of moral outrage." Williams et al. should have listened. "The site has a hip, rebellious tone, and avidly promotes smokers' rights," they note with horror. "The topics...are very pro-smoking, with no attempt to balance the presentation of the issues." To top it all off, "In this entire study not a single Surgeon General's warning was found on any tobacco site."
Occasionally, the report's authors remember that they're supposed to be talking about the threat to "youth" posed by these distasteful Web sites. Then they throw in comments like, "Some of these sites have elements that could be attractive to youth, particularly young teenagers curious about smoking."
To show how The Smoker's Home Page appeals to "young people," Williams et al. note that the site "offers smoking-related audio, including songs from such popular groups as the Doors, the Beatles, Alanis Morrisette, and the Rolling Stones." The kids today--they love the Stones. Dismayed by "the astonishing proliferation of cigar sites," Williams et al. observe that "[t]he majority of computer users are still young, well-educated, middle-class males in their twenties and thirties, just the target market cigar companies are seeking." Two pages later, they warn that "the lifestyle culture and glamor used to sell cigars could be attractive to under-age smokers." Please. Bring back the frogs.
Editor's Note: We invite comments and request that they be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of Reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment for any reason at any time.
nfl jerseys|11.16.10 @ 2:49AM|#
xthghbgf