 |
| reprinted by kind permission of Okanagan Sunday |
| FIGHTING THE DEATH MERCHANTS January 25, 2004 |
| PENTICTON - "Nobody likes to be called scum," said Georgina Lovell, explaining the philosophy behind the program she developed to educate youth about marketing tactics used by tobacco manufacturers. "One of the projects was called Project SCUM, where they were profiling certain segments of the population - one of which was 14 - to 19- year olds - and they called it Project SCUM, an acronym for Sub Culture Urban Marketing." Lovell brought her program - called Project Moving Target: Don't Be Sucked In By Tobacco - to the Okanagan this week, for National Non Smoking Week. She addressed students at elementary and high schools from Princeton through Vernon, ran a workshop for peer mentors at the Penticton Health Unit and held public information sessions at Okanagan University College. When she speaks, Lovell teaches her young audience what she calls "tobacco awareness." "I'm here to tell you about the industry - what they think of you, how carefully they have researched you and how much they need your business," she said, adding the companies need thousands of new smokers every day to replace those who die or quit. Since 9 out of 10 smokers start before they are 19, the industry aims their product at youth. Lovell's book You Are The Target (Big Tobacco: Lies, Scams - Now the Truth) is the basis for her presentations. Based on copies of actual corporate documents and sworn testimony from international tobacco litigation victories, Lovell's workshops let young people in on a few secrets. "Here's what they're calling you when they think you're not listening: they're calling you scum, they're calling you stupid, they're calling you a drug addict," said Lovell. One quote from sources documented in her book has a R.J. Reynolds Tobacco executive quoted as saying "We don't smoke the s**t, we just sell it. We reserve the right to smoke for the young, the poor, the black and the stupid." Some of the documents prove the tobacco industry deliberately manipulated nicotine with ammonia to make it more addictive. |
| Others prove one company genetically modified a plant to create a new strain of tobacco containing twice as much nicotine. Most of the documents prove the companies know their product is addictive and target young people. "I have the video of seven tobacco CEO's under oath in front of the U.S. Congress saying they believe nicotine is not addictive," she said. Lovell thinks giving some insight into the marketing behind the industry is an important aspect of tobacco education, and works alongside information about the known health risks of smoking. Knowing the health risks is important - but might not be enough to help kids butt out. "When I was 16 I was invincible - dying from smoking disease is something that happened to people's grandparents and you think you have plenty of time to figure it out, " said Lovell. As well as educating students about the industry's tactics, Lovell teaches young people to teach others. Tuesday's workshop at the Penticton Health Unit was designed to teach secondary school students how to present this program to Grade 5 and 6 students at Penticton elementary schools. Lovell estimated in Canada one in five people smoke - a number that's gradually decreasing. Health Canada reports tobacco kills one in two people who use it, and after watching her father die from tobacco related disease and her mother suffer with emphysema, Lovell is determined to help drive those numbers down. So far she has presented Project Moving Target throughout Canada and the U.S. There is interest from overseas and Lovell sees evidence her program is successful with a noticeable quit rate by students who were smoking before they met her. "I've had kids at the end of my presentation take cigarettes out of their backpack, stomp them on the floor and say 'I'm not giving those s.o.b.'s another penny of my money!' They get angry at the industry and that's another aid to help them quit. Nobody likes to be conned. We combine that attempt to con our kids with what the health professionals are telling them. We're getting some good results." |
| photo and story by Laurena Typusiak special to the Okanagan Sunday |
 |