Decentralism

The above photo is of a victim of a terrible car accident.  It has shock value, similar to how the new required graphic images on cigarette packages has shock value. 

Now if the government wanted to be consistent a picture like the one above would be required to be displayed on new car windows and print ads and on commercials.  However, I am not arguing for consistency.  I show this to show the ridiculousness of what has been required of Big Tobacco.  If it was done to other items the same way no one would stand for it. 

Which brings me to the Niemöller statement “First they came for the communists, and I didn’t speak because I wasn’t a communist…”

I am not a smoker, I do not own any shares in any tobacco companies, and I do not own any business that does any kind of advertising.  But that doesn’t mean I can’t recognize what kind of a precedence this has created.  The government is mandating that tobacco companies use their production capacity, their packaging processes, and their funds to make a government statement. 

Listen to the defense given by the FDA representative at 3:45.  “We were told to implement this” (paraphrase) She makes no defense, its an evasion.  She doesn’t even make an attempt, allowing that to be done by someone else. 

Now, I realize this isn’t the first abuse of this kind.  Even nutritional labels are an example of the government making companies display government messaging using their own funds and production capacity.  I would be more likely to buy a package that has nutritional information on it than not.  Nutritional information is something that provides consumer value.  It would exist on the market sans a state making it so and it did exist prior to the FDA’s mandates. 

The point is, smokers, non-smokers, business owners, marketers, and everyday citizens must recognize that the government does not get to decide how we advertise our products. 

#Separation of Marketing & State