July 15, 2014
TRANSFORMERS MAKES 3 BILLION TOBACCO IMPRESSIONS ON CHINA AND USA
In three short weeks, Transformers: Age of Extinction (PG-13) has delivered an estimated 2.4 billion tobacco impressions in China and 1.5 billion tobacco impressions in the US and Canada.
The Viacom movie has earned 72 percent of its box office outside the US so far, including a record $280 million in China — surpassing its $209 million domestic box office. About half the movie is set in (or above) Hong Kong SAR.
PRODUCT PLACEMENT IS RAMPANT
Also known as Transformers 4, the movie is a science-fiction fantasy vehicle for “Autobot” dolls marketed by Hasbro to young boys. The fourth release in the Transformers film franchise includes product placement for Bud Light, Chevrolet and Chinese brands. 
The movie also shows a bearded, veteran combat robot (“Hound”) gnawing on a glowing-red cigar 50+ times. This computer-animated character has been through several incarnations as a toy or cartoon over the past 30 years. In 2014, directed by Michael Bay, “Hound” smokes for the first time.
PARAMOUNT’S TOBACCO POLICY FAILS
July 14, 2014
We just submitted this public comment to FDA on the FDA's proposed guideline tightening up the process for evaluating substantial equivalence claims. (The proposed guideline is available here.) While we think that this is a step in the right direction, we think that the FDA needs to be more explicit about how it is handling inadequate applications. (This is different from deeming.)
FDA Should Clarify that Tobacco Products for which FDA has not Received Adequate SE Reports by Established Deadlines Must be Removed from the Market
FDA-2014-D-0800
Lauren Lempert, JD MPH
Stanton Glantz, PhD
University of California San Francisco\
July 14, 2014
July 9, 2014
Tobacco Free Kids has created a microsite -- http://regulateALLtobacco.org -- aimed at generating comments to the FDA deeming docket to counter the tens of thousands of comments being submitted by cigar lovers and vapers. Their goal is to distribute the URL far and wide so groups can share with members, generate alerts, put in newsletters, etc. While theoretically the comment process should be about quality not quantity, quantity does count.
The site includes background info, talking points, fact sheets on cigars and e-cigarettes, and sample comments for parents, health care providers, concerned citizens and public health advocates. There are several click-through opportunities to submit comments directly into the deeming docket at Regulations.gov, along with some basic instructions on how to fill out the comment form.
The site is not branded with any logo (although it does state at the bottom that it was developed by CTFK so people know where it came from). CTFK won’t capture any names or know who clicks through to take action.
The site has been tested in all major web browsers and has been designed to work on smartphones and tablets.
Please share widely with your networks!
July 9, 2014
The National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) has sent an action alert to its members telling them how to submit comments to the FDA and suggesting what to say.
The full alert is here; the key elements are reproduced below:
D. Suggested Comments on Premium Cigars
The proposed definition of a premium cigar should not include a minimum retail price of $10 per cigar. This price point is unrealistic and arbitrary because a significant majority of premium cigars have a retail price below $10, with many premium cigars priced substantially less than $10 per cigar.
June 28, 2014
Back in 1994 ABC News aired an important documentary on its documentary series Day One that exposed the fact that Philip Morris was manipulating nicotine delivery in its cigarettes to maximize addiction potential. The documentary played an important role in moving the discussion of the tobacco industry forward (including then-FDA Commissioner David Kessler to propose regulation of tobacco products as well as contributing to the pressure for litigation against the cigarette companies.
Philip Morris sued ABC and ABC caved rather than defending the Day One documentary. This shameful episode, as well as CBS's caving to Big Tobacco by attempting to spike the 60 Minutes segment featuring former tobacco company executive and scientist Jeffery Wigand (that also included me confirming what Wigand said) is described in the excellent Frontline documentary "Smoke in the Eye," which can be viewed on the Internet Archive here.
It turns out that ABC spiked a second documentary, prepared for its documentary program Turning Point, "Tobacco Under Fire.".