NATION : Tobacco Industry Ads Targeting Women Smokers Under Attack
Surgeon General Antonia Coello Novello and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology today condemned tobacco companies for targeting cigarette sales at women.
“Every year in the United States 126,000 women die from smoking-related disorders. These are deaths that are entirely preventable,” Novello said.
“As health-care providers, we strive to alert women to the harmful effects of smoking and discourage women from this dangerous habit. But these efforts are thwarted by tobacco advertisements glamorizing this powerful, addictive drug,” she said.
Thomas Lauria of the Tobacco Institute defended the practice of developing brands that appeal to women and said the critics are being sexist.
“It’s paternalistic to even imply that a woman is more vulnerable than a man in making up her own mind about whether to smoke,” he said.
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