October 27, 2011

Stanton A. Glantz, PhD

Cain ad featurning smoking latest tobacco promotion

The bizarre Herman Cain campaign ad featuring his campaign manager, Mark Block, smoking is just the latest in their longstanding tobacco promotions. Cain has a longstanding working relationship with the tobacco industry. Shortly after becoming president of the National Restaurant Association, Cain met with RJ Reynolds Tobacco, beginning a long relationship fronting for the tobacco industry in opposing smoke-free laws with financing from the tobacco companies.  As noted in the New York Times, Cain expanded the NRA from a “once sleepy trade group…into a lobbying powerhouse.” He assisted the tobacco industry in fighting smoke-free laws and they helped him gain access to Republican leadership at the time.  His performance earned praise from RJ Reynolds Tobacco and was featured in a Philip Morris editorial for its “Sign of the Times” Accommodation Program newsletter. As President of the NRA, Herman Cain also engaged directly in opposing smoke-free laws, for example, through the “B.I.T.E. Back” program and personal involvement with the tobacco industry’s “Accommodation” program. For more on Herman Cain's tobacco connections, check out PR Watch's story on the ad. Follow me on Twitter at @ProfGlantz.

Add new comment

Plain text

  • No HTML tags allowed.
  • Web page addresses and e-mail addresses turn into links automatically.
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.