On the Rhetoric of Tobacco Companies

I’ll have to say, I took quite a personal interest in Maura’s presentation on the rhetoric of tobacco advertisement. As most of you know, my granddad passed away that week before spring break. But what I hadn’t mentioned was that he had suffered with emphysema for over twenty years as a result of long term smoking. For several years now his health had steadily worsened, and he had been put on an oxygen machine which ran thin tubes all throughout his home. Before his death he had felt like the oxygen was no longer helping to support his breathing. He began to have severe panic attacks with the anxiety of not being able to breathe. On March 14 he shot himself within his own home. I have lost grandparents before, but never under these circumstances. And I think it has been hard for my family and me to deal with because of the trauma and tragedy underlying his death.

The years spent seeing my granddad suffer because of his choice to smoke really shaped the way I look at smoking. To tell you the truth, I don’t know that anyone in my family has ever tried it. Maura’s presentation really exposed the heart of the tobacco companies. Cigarette commercials and advertisements are targeted at men, women, and children alike, and it’s frustrating that we really allow something to be so promoted that is so obviously a danger to one’s health. I don’t think anyone can ever really understand its dangers until they have either gone through it themselves or watched someone they love struggle through it. And even then, as CA mentioned, there are some who are determined to smoke regardless of its risks and regardless of its effects.

I appreciated Maura’s presentation and wish that we had more organizations like “Truth.com” to counteract the manipulative advertisements of tobacco companies. But even then, as we discussed in class, people are going to do what they will, regardless of the consequences.