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We
Don't Want Youths to Smoke Our "Risky" Product
by Ulysses Dorotheo,
27 November 2001
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Philip Morris
is quick to boast that it is "actively involved in more than 130 programs
in nearly 70 countries to help prevent youth smoking". One example
it cites is in the Philippines, implemented together with the University
of Asia and the Pacific (UAP), entitled, "I am STRONG…I am Responsible."
The program, it alleges, was even endorsed by the Secretary of the
Department of Education, Culture, and Sports under the previous (Estrada)
government administration.
According to Philip Morris, "the program's specific objective is to
cultivate strength and courage among the students so that they can
make responsible decisions on a variety of lifestyle issues, including
smoking." A review of the program, however, reveals that for the duration
of the program, high school students are indeed taught various human
virtues geared toward making "responsible decisions", but that is
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There is no
mention of the many deleterious consequences of smoking on health.
There is no mention of nicotine addiction. There is no mention of
the effects of second-hand smoke. Thus like other youth smoking
prevention (YSP) programs of the tobacco industry, it is a sham.
In fact, only two brief sentences in the entire program refer to
smoking: "There are decisions that teenagers can make and decisions
that are properly adult. For instance, smoking and drinking are
adult decisions. Hence, children and youth should not smoke."
Quite obviously, by labeling the decision to smoke as an "adult
choice", it reinforces the wrong idea that in order to be more adult
(which youths aspire to be), youths should smoke. Therefore, instead
of preventing youth smoking, it actually promotes it. It also implies
that smoking is harmful to youths, but it is safe if one is an adult.
A conversation with the former dean of the UAP College of Education
reveals even more:
- Philip Morris
only provides funding for the program. The course content and
actual implementation are purely a UAP effort. Philip Morris officials
don't deny this, yet they claim that their company is "actively
involved". Talk about genuine concern…
- Philip
Morris refuses to receive any feedback on the program, supposedly
so that it will not know the mindset of the program participants.
Of course, we all know that any such feedback would show how ineffective
it is as a YSP program.
- The program
was started in 1998 and was supposed to end this year. Philip
Morris Philippines had decided not to continue the program, but
the decision from higher up (Philip Morris Asia) was to renew
the contract with UAP for another 3 years. Since Philip Morris
has no idea as to the (in)effectiveness of the program, its willingness
to continue funding the program can only be interpreted as another
public relations gimmick to help polish its tarnished image.
Fortunately,
the new Secretary of Education, Secretary Raul Roco, has refused
outright any and all offers that Philip Morris has been making in
recent months.
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This article
was published in the FCA Bulletin (27 November 2001) circulated during
INB3.
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