Spring 2014

FRST 1002, Readings: The Human Condition

Pam Cross, Instructor

Office: J-105i; office phone: 609-652-4899 (x4899); cell: 609-442-2293

e-mail:

course blog:

Assignment for Monday, February 10:

Again and again in League of Denialwe hear comparisons made between the NFL and the tobacco industry. See what you think. Please read this 1994 NY Times article, which reports on the Congressional testimony of the top executives from the seven largest American tobacco companies. Remember, this article was written almost 20 years ago. As you read:

  1. What Congressional committee did the executives testify before?
  1. What did the executives say to the suggestion that their companies manipulated nicotine levels to keep smokers addicted?
  1. What about the link between smoking and lung cancer and other serious health conditions?
  1. Explain the Joe Camel ad that got the RJ Reynolds executive to apologize.
  1. What did company execs say about making a more fire-safe cigarette?
  1. How did each of the 7 executives reply when asked if they believed cigarettes were addictive?
  1. How did Andrew Tisch, CEO of Lorillard Tobacco, answer the question about cigarettes causing cancer?
  1. How did the executives answer the questions about how they felt about their own children smoking?
  1. What were some of the admissions made by executives during the hearing?
  1. What did Congressman Waxman’s proposed bill seek to limit?

And now jump ahead 20 years to read the NY Times article from February 5, 2014: “CVS Vows to Quit Selling Tobacco Products.” You’ll find a link on our course blog. As you read:

  1. What has the pharmacy chain CVS announced?
  1. What’s the estimated cost to the company of this big decision?
  1. What reasons does CVS CEO Larry J. Merlo offer for this decision?
  1. What did Kathleen Sebelius, Secretary of Health and Human Services, say in a statement about the CVS decision?
  1. What did CVS competitor Walgreens have to say on the matter?
  1. What is the percentage of Americans who smoke these days? What was it in 1965?
  1. THINK: What took you so long, CVS? Why do you think it took 20 years—almost 50 years if we go back to the Surgeon General’s report that linked smoking to cancer—for CVS to stop selling cigarettes?

Just for fun, please check out the timeline for American Lung Association's Battle Against Tobacco Use Milestones from the course blog. Note that the timeline starts in 1954!