| Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune Copyright (c) 2003, Sun Media Corporation BUYER BEWARE ANTI-SMOKING CRUSADER URGES HER LISTENERS TO NOT BE AN EASY TARGET FOR TOBACCO COMPANIES Tuesday, November 18, 2003 Edition: Final Section: News Page: 3 BY DEBI RUHL, HERALD-TRIBUNE STAFF Lane Haughian hasn't smoked a cigarette, he hasn't chewed tobacco and he's steered clear of cigars. But the Grade 12 Peace Wapiti Academy student was still shocked and offended by the information he received Monday morning from renowned anti-tobacco activist Georgina Lovell. Lovell, who will be attending different schools in the city over the next couple of days including a stop at Grande Prairie Regional College tonight, has been researching the tobacco industry and is making it her mission to inform kids about the lies and deceit. "I was shocked about the things tobacco executives are saying. I'm disgusted and angered about the fact they're calling (the consumers) stupid. They don't see consumers as people. They see them just as monkeys to buy a product," he said. It took Lovell nearly four years to research her book, You Are the Target (Big Tobacco: Lies, Scams - Now the Truth). After her father died from lung cancer and her mother was diagnosed with emphysema, Lovell made it her mission to get the correct information about tobacco companies out into the public eye - even though it meant years of going through documents and court cases. "I don't really see this as targeting any one group (to talk about the dangers of tobacco)," she said after her presentation to a packed gymnasium as part of the school's Smoke Free 2003 smoking cessation program. "This is about raising awareness about the product they sell. I think everyone is entitled to free choice and there is information that is deliberately being withheld. The choices kids make are based on the information they have." Lovell, who is from Vancouver, has spoken to 45,000 students over the past year about the dangers of tobacco and nicotine and the aggressive marketing tactics companies use to tempt kids to pick up a cigarette. "Tobacco companies are experts on you and your preferences. They work their messages to show you tobacco is something you want to try. Nine out of 10 people start smoking before they're 18 and the companies know once a person has tried it, chances are good that young person will continue smoking," she said. "It's never too late to stop. After your last puff, your lungs will begin to clear but the damage will already have been done. When you are educated about the industry, you're not such an easy target anymore." Grade 12 student Philip Harolows was also shocked by some of the information Lovell presented. "I thought (her presentation) was good because it offered a lot more information to us," he said. "It's really gross. I don't smoke but I still feel bad about the way they're using people." Although she has felt some pressure from the industry to lay low - including some threats made against her - that's the most common reaction Lovell has seen since her crusade began. "My hope is they will take away this information. When they are offered a cigarette, I hope they take into account that this is an industry that calls its best customers scum," she said. "If anything (the threats) have made me even more determined. Everything I say is well documented and supported. One of the very first times I spoke to a group, a girl followed me out to my car. She was crying and told me I had to keep doing this because it is so important. That touched me the most. That's why I do it." Copyright 2003, Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune |
| Reprinted by kind permission of Grande Prairie Daily Herald-Tribune |
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