Smoker Discrimination Update 1/26/11

Below you'll find a link to the latest discriminatory action against smokers, only this is a little confusing for me this time around. Besides smoker discrimination, I don't really care for hipsters ("Have you read Atlas Shrugged? It's so deep, maan.") and the Camel cigarette company has released a "new" brand of cigarette called Williamsburg, named for and sold in Williamsburg which is a hive for the hipster population. The brand is no different than normal Camels--the pack, which has been doing gangbusters for local retailers, is the cause of Thomas Farley's issue. You see, Farley, "a New Yorker and a public health professional" (my Smug-O-Meter is screaming) is deeply offended and disgusted, calling for Camel to "cease and desist" this line of cigarettes because, in his opinion, these new Williamsburg cigarettes are against the law because the "Break Free Adventure" tagline associated with the new brand is advertising, which is unlawful for cigarette companies to do, and that it is making children want to smoke.

My first problem is the lack of evidence of this. Where are the child smokers? Where are the increased number of smoker deaths? How about an increased cancer rate? You know what has increased? Profit margins for local business owners. But I guess they're just "merchants of morbidity" too (Jed Rakoff is a douche). I need to mention again that it's not up to the tobacco company or the retailers to control child smokers. It's up to the parents, and it's up to the kids. Smoking is a choice. Considering the increased profit lines, it seems that the Williamburg brand is successful, which means more smokers, which means more hipsters smoking. No big loss.

Now, believe it or not, I do actually have a small problem with RJ Reynolds, the Camel rep who came up with the Williamsburg brand idea. It's a schlocky, gimmicky, but at a dollar less than normal packs (added to the aforementioned excellent sales), it's also a smart business move so I really can't bitch him out so much. Considering how broke hipsters generally are ("I'm suffering for my art while I find myself") at least until daddy places more money into the trust fund, but that's neither here nor there.

The fact is, Farley is wrong here. Camel isn't advertising. This is word of mouth and general human curiosity. It's choice. So I guess that's a problem for some.



http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/hey_camel_cease_and_desist_VTmF77tp6t50UQOFOt9j8M?CMP=OTC-rss&FEEDNAME=