Dateline, Tuesday, April 1, 2003, New York City

An article in the New York Post reads as follows: Citywide ads pitch cig-kick products. Nicorette hopes the city’s tough smoking ban will give smokers something to chew on. GlaxoSmithKline, marketers of three stop smoking products- Nicorette gum, the Nic-Derm CQ patch and the new Commit Lozenge, is launching a monthlong ad campaign telling New Yorkers it’s a good time to quit.

Three different ads are appearing on 75 phone kiosks around Manhattan to promote the over-the-counter products. "Apparently, the mayor wasn’t kidding about that smoking ban," says one ad. "If you think quitting is hard, have you tried smoking lately?" quips another. All three ads end with the message: "The New York City smoking ban is here. Could be time to quit".

GSK advertises nationally on television and in print – and this is the first time the corporation is pitching directly to a local area." We wanted to deliver this message, which was designed for New Yorkers, directly to them by using an eye-catching method that is specific to New York", said company spokeswoman Malesia Dunn.

"We wanted to speak to New Yorkers where they are, and New York, more so than many other cities is a walking city", she said. "With these ads on 75 phone kiosks around Manhattan, we consider this approach to be a perfect fit."

We at The Muriel S. Miller Foundation wonder at the silence of the American Cancer Society on the recent smoking ban in New York City. We also would like to know how much they are being paid to endorse Nic-O-Derm Patches with their" Cancer fighting sword logo"? What are they doing with this money which might run into the millions?

After years of declaring Dr. Linus Pauling a fraud and quack for advocating the use of Vitamin C in the fight against cancer and when membership donations were stagnating and needing cash to boost their " cancer fighting programs ", The American Cancer Society had no problem accepting four million dollars to exclusively endorse Florida Orange Juice which contains of all things, Vitamin C. Next time you purchase Florida Orange Juice, look for the famous " sword logo" on the container and think how much interest that four million dollars is earning in the coffers of the richest private medical-oriented charity in the world.

And finally, for Glaxo’s very brilliant advertising campaign on the above subject, we will shortly have a history of Glaxo on our website entitled " The pharmaceutical Seduction of the Planet – A look into the unhealthy dominance of the pharmaceutical industry. Anyone watching television these days can’t help seeing commercials for the various drug companies virtually every few moments with those famous words" Talk To Your Doctor ". He has already received much of his ongoing education from fast talking drug company sales reps whose only interest is in peddling more drugs for the pharmaceutical industry. Their job, as the drug company salesman or saleswoman, is to teach the doctor how to use the latest drugs while enticing them with all sorts of perks and kickbacks so they will prescribe them liberally to their patients. The pharmaceutical industry is spending hundreds of millions of dollars a year on these commercials which will entice you to visit your doctor who will gladly prescribe their products for you. It’s a sickening condition that is getting worse.