Vinny DeMarco's Analysis
Vinny DeMarco submitted the following
tobacco industry protection provision in the proposed deal.
III. PERMANENT RELIEF (a) Prohibition on Youth
Targeting. No Participating Manufacturer may take any promotion or marketing
of Tobacco Products, or take any action the PRIMARY purpose of which is
to initiate, maintain or increase the incidence of Youth smoking within
any Settling State. (emphasis added)
Notice the word "primary". It seems to me that this word is
a significant modifier on their pledge not to advertise to kids. Does this
mean that they would be able to devise an advertising scheme whose "primary"
purpose is to get smokers to switch brands but which has a "secondary"
purpose or message designed to attract kids? This language could easily
have been written without the word "primary" if they really were
going to stop all advertising in any way designed to attract kids to smoking.