The International Passport.
After the useful work that Peter Stuyvesant did introducing tea to the American colonies in the 1660’s he lent his name to a brand of cigarettes. American Tobacco marketed the cancer sticks as “The International Passport to Smoking Pleasure”.
As a teenager I was greatly impressed.
I learnt to smoke.
I thought it would turn a spotty juvenile into a sophisticated man-about-town.
I thought I would be admired, looked up to and most of all, attractive to women.
My International Passport failed to get through customs.
In the years that have passed, the tobacco industry has gone from a respected business champion to a social pariah.
Do you know anyone who admits to working for the tobacco industry?
Do you think Pharma will be far behind?
280 Billion Good Reasons
So far litigation against Philip Morris has cost it $280 billion.
That’s a fraction of what it would cost to restore the company to its former position.
And it’s a fraction of what the tobacco industry spent on agnotology.
Yes, agnotology, the study of the cultural production of ignorance and doubt.
An executive of British American Tobacco wrote in 1969:
“Doubt is our product, since it is the best means of competing with ‘the body of fact’ (linking smoking with disease) that exists in the minds of the general public.”
Anne Landman, writing in PR Watch.org says: “We now know in retrospect, thanks to industry documents, that the tobacco industry is really two separate industries: one that we see, that makes and sells cigarettes, and the other we don’t see, that has spent generations and an untold fortune trying to convince the world, against our better judgement, that smoking is a normal human behaviour, and should stay that way.”
Queue Jumper.
Given its fondness for dodgy corporate behaviour you might expect Pharma to be tracking down the same road, Lawsuits, Damages, Unredeemable Fall from Grace, all the usual suspects, but we think it may have to wait for a bit.
Another industry has jumped the queue, eager to put profits ahead of the health of the planet.
The Big Power Industry is now feeling the heat of the first litigation.
If the legal battles follow the tobacco industry pattern, the early cases will do poorly, but the tide of public opinion will eventually turn the big polluters into objects of hatred and derision.
Social Media will certainly help accelerate the process.
Do you think this might provide some breathing space for Pharma?
Do you imagine they will use the space to find some fresh air?
We’re not breathing easily just yet.
(Tomorrow's Post: Naturopathic Pharma)
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