The New York Times and many other sources are reporting with great excitement about the launch of a brand new Camel cigarette, aimed at women:
Reynolds, eager to increase the sales of its fast-growing Camel brand among women, is introducing a variety aimed at female smokers. The new variation, Camel No. 9, has a name that evokes women’s fragrances like Chanel No. 19, as well as a song about romance, “Love Potion No. 9.”
But don’t look for a Jo Camel to join Old Joe the dromedary on Camel packages, displays or posters. Rather, Camel No. 9 signals its intended buyers with subtler cues like its colors, a hot-pink fuchsia and a minty-green teal; its slogan, “Light and luscious”; and the flowers that surround the packs in magazine ads.
Of course, the article goes on to point out:
“The sad part is, this product is just more of the same,” said Cheryl G. Healton, president and chief executive of the American Legacy Foundation in Washington. The foundation oversees the national antismoking “Truth” campaign aimed at youth that is financed by money from Reynolds American and the other major cigarette marketers.
“More women die of lung cancer than breast cancer, by a wide margin,” Ms. Healton said, yet the tobacco companies still “want to increase their market share among women.”
Regardless of the health implications, smokers are curious; and one response on Yahoo! Answers put the situation in perspective:
I usually smoke Camel Lights Menthol. Compared to the menthol lights, the No. 9's are like sucking air through a straw.
Given the massive backlash against the tobacco industry over the last decade, I always forget that they're still out there, swimming in money and plying every devious trick in the book to keep people hooked. I suspect it's possible they could come up with a package that blinks and has a glow stick, and sell Camel Trance.
