OhioMagazine Now Selling Cigarettes
Popular family magazine partners in addicting Ohio readers and their teens to smoked nicotine.
An outraged Milford, Ohio couple notified OhioMagazine of their "shock and disappointment" that the magazine allowed cigarette advertising in the November/December 2020 issue.
Pages 14 and 15 are a two-page ad featuring "Natural American Spirit" (NAS) cigarettes, a brand owned by Reynolds American.
"We've subscribed for years and this is a first. We advised them that we would be canceling our subscription if the ads continue.
"Our teens look at the issues for fun things to do. Possibly no more."
A lifetime of trusting OhioMagazine to protect them, why shouldn't teenage readers feel safe?
The ad thrice suggests "purity" in sandwiching assurance that NAS cigarettes are an "earth-friendly tobacco blend, paired with a charcoal filter" between "organic tobacco" claims.
Question? Do organic carcinogens kill slower? Doesn't each and every puff of a NAS cigarette introduce hundreds of tissue-damaging toxins into the body?
A 2018 study found that a compilation of arguments taken directly from NAS advertisements "resulted in significantly greater beliefs that NAS cigarettes are healthier/safer than other cigarettes."
A 2019 study examined whether NAS pro-environmental marketing, such as seen in the OhioMagaine ad, contributes to misperceptions that the product is safer for people and the environment than other cigarettes.
It found that it does. "Stricter government regulations on the use of pro-environment terms in marketing that imply modified risk are needed," wrote the study's authors.
OhioMagazine boasts 358,000 loyal readers. "Our readers are diverse, educated, decision-makers with tremendous disposable income and most of all, they are youthful!"
Owned by Great Lakes Publishing, the ad contradicts the magazine's "Editorial Mission Statement," which is aimed at quality of life, family, and fun.
"Ohio MagazineĀ serves energetic and involved Ohioans by providing award-winning stories and pictures of Ohio's most interesting people, arts, entertainment, history, homes, dining, family life, festivals and regional travel. We capture the beauty, the adventure and the fun of life in the Buckeye State."
Three times COVID's current Ohio death toll, tobacco is expected to claim the lives of 20,200 Ohioans during 2020.
Imagine accepting money to help spread dependency, disease, and death. Imagine helping convince readers that NAS may be the safest cigarette of all.
OhioMagazine, you're better than this.
If wishing to add your voice, email OhioMagazine at: ohiomagazine@emailcustomerservice.com
