John Oliver on his February 15th show, “Last Week Tonight”, riled against the tobacco industry’s efforts to stop Australia and Uruguay from mandating changes to cigarette packs sold in their country. The tobacco industry filed a suit in International Court against each country’s law which would transform the tobacco pack into a mini- billboard showing consumers what would happen to their health if they continued smoking, pictures of clogged arteries, premature babies, and diseased lungs would replace the tobacco company’s branded image. The name of the tobacco brand would be relegated to a small space at the bottom of the pack.
Oliver, outraged by tobacco industry tactics to increase profits by aggressively marketing its products in other countries and to thwart public health efforts to stem the tide, launched a new character, “Jeff, the diseased lung in a cowboy hat” to counter the image of the Marlboro Man. Using his show and a variety of social media platforms, Oliver has ignited an international counter campaign that might just work to help make the next generation tobacco free. We can all get involved. “Like” Jeff on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/hashtag/jeffwecan , follow Jeff on Instagram, #Marlboro, and Twitter using #JeffWeCan . If nothing else, watch the YouTube video of Oliver’s February 15th show, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6UsHHOCH4q8 and share the link friends and family.
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