THE CASE
The think-tank at Philip Morris, the tobacco company that recently brought you the Heatbar, is at it again. They have another new and innovative product.
To help the beleaguered office bound smokers get a quick nicotine fix, Philip Morris is testing a new product in Turkey (and probably other countries) called Marlboro Intense. It is physically not as long but delivers the same amount of nicotine as a standard Marlboro Red. It is the short potent cigarette designed for busy people. Here is a table to help you:
(I refuse to rewrite this in Imperial measurements, I have my limits.)So you don't have to spend so much time in the snow or the rain, the cold or the wind, you will soon be able to buy this mini cigarette termed "snack size" from the kind and thoughtful people at Philip Morris. If the company's predictions are correct this will be the first of a wave of similar products.
It is probably no accident that this new product has appeared simultaneously with the separation of Philip Morris from it's parent company Altria. The feeling is that
the move would free the tobacco giant's international operations of legal and public-relations headaches in the U.S. that have hindered its growth.
MY VERDICT
There is nothing accidental about the design of a cigarette. They are intended to addict you to nicotine quickly, and to keep you addicted. Nicotine addiction is probably the hardest addiction to overcome.
As the anti-smoking guru Professor Simon Chapman says "cigarettes are a drug delivery system".
7 comments:
Disgraceful. I'm surprised the whole thing isn't coated in trans fats for that extra heart-disease inducing kick.
And where is the Philip Morris PR blogtroll to refute all this? Hmm? Someone's getting lax!
I didn't mention this in the blog, but Philip Morris have recently launched a new cigarette in Indonesia, the Marlboro Mix 9 kreteks. (See kretek in Wikipedia)
Apparently these are clove flavoured to suit the local market and have, but wait for it, about TWICE the nicotine and tar of regular cigarettes.
I have tried but can't verify this, but I believe that Marlboro Mix 9 contains 30mg of tar and 1.8mg of nicotine. This is twice the strength of normal Marlboro Red.
Developing countries are apparently still fair game to the multinationals.
The blogtroll is hiding, If he does appear I might have to get Simon Chapman to exorcise him. Anyway it is a bit hard to refute public record facts.
Wait, I'm confused. So, apparently more nicotine and tar is more harmful? Why is it when this idea is applied to the naming of "light" cigarettes (reason light, ultra light cannot be used anymore), it does not apply. They say the light cigarettes are no better or less harmful than full flavor cigarettes. But when an "intense" cigarette with more nicotine and tar, it is killing you faster and worse for you?
I understand the stance people take against tobacco, but a little bit of consistency may give the pro-tobacco people less ammunition to question the credibility of the test that have been conducted, which can cause stalling in court.
Hello Anonymous,
So you were paying attention after all!
Please don't be disingenuous, you know very well it is the nicotine that causes the addiction, therefore the more nicotine the faster and deeper the addiction.
The harm mainly comes from other substances of which the tar level is an indicator. Carcinogenicity tends to be dose independent, in that there is no safe level of ingestion of some substances. That is why "light" and "mild" are inappropriate tags.
As you know there are dozens if not hundreds of other harmful chemicals intentionally added to tobacco. Some of these are to modify the rate of nicotine delivery, to increase the addictive potential.
Unlike food, medicines and cosmetics these substances are not identified on the pack. Why not? Because they are too scary and the packets are probably too small to list them all.
Hello again Anonymous,
I have been thinking about your visit to my site and your comment. What really annoys me is that you were too weak-kneed or lily-livered or whatever to declare yourself.
Do you really think that in the Internet age you are anonymous? I know very well that you came from "host18.pmintl.ch" I know your IP address (which out of respect for your privacy I won't publish), I know that your ISP is "Philip Morris Companies Inc" and I know you are in New York.
What is even scarier is that I know you use Microsoft IE 6.0 on Windows XP and that your screen resolution is 1280x1024, but I don't know what you had for lunch.....wait is that a Gloria Jeans latte next to your terminal?
So why bother with the subterfuge? Why not just say "I work for Philip Morris and I disagree with ....." you don't even have to use your real name.
I would welcome an honest debate.
haha! Bravo DL. I doubt anonymous will return to counter that. He probably ruined his/her keyboard when they spilt the Gloria Jeans latte over it after reading your response.
Wait a minute. Manufacturers have been producing cigarettes at this size and potency for years. So much so, in fact, that they are known world-wide as simply "Regular" sized cigarettes. Not only that, the primary target for this particular length of cigarette are those who already smoke. Therefor, the chances of this leading to an increase in the number of first time smokers is pretty much nil.
Also, the statement implying that nicotine addiction is "probably the most difficult to overcome" is nothing short of laughable. Are we to believe that it's okay to start shooting up heroin or obliterating our bodies and minds through alcohol abuse simply on the basis that neither is carcinogenic?
Petty as it may seem, I'd also like to address the fact that these cigarettes do not offer the same amount of nicotine, tar or carbon monoxide. I'm fully aware that the difference is very slight - less than .1mg in all categories labelled - but I believe all the facts should be brought to light.
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