National Smokers Alliance
Encyclopedia
The National Smoker's Alliance (NSA) was a group formed in 1993 to protest U.S. anti-smoking legislation
.
The NSA was a public relations created front group funded by the tobacco industry, which operated nationally from 1994 to 1999 to advocate for adults using tobacco products without vigorous regulation or increased tobacco taxes. An early example of astroturfing
, the NSA employed stealth marketing tactics to give the appearance of grassroots
opposition to anti-smoking laws.
One of the NSA's members included famed talk show host Morton Downey, Jr.
; however, he gave up smoking after being diagnosed with lung cancer
in 1996; he died of the disease in 2001.
In 1999 tobacco company Philip Morris announced that it would withdraw funding after the NSA made an ethics complaint about John McCain.
Smoking ban
Smoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
.
The NSA was a public relations created front group funded by the tobacco industry, which operated nationally from 1994 to 1999 to advocate for adults using tobacco products without vigorous regulation or increased tobacco taxes. An early example of astroturfing
Astroturfing
Astroturfing is a form of advocacy in support of a political, organizational, or corporate agenda, designed to give the appearance of a "grassroots" movement. The goal of such campaigns is to disguise the efforts of a political and/or commercial entity as an independent public reaction to some...
, the NSA employed stealth marketing tactics to give the appearance of grassroots
Grassroots
A grassroots movement is one driven by the politics of a community. The term implies that the creation of the movement and the group supporting it are natural and spontaneous, highlighting the differences between this and a movement that is orchestrated by traditional power structures...
opposition to anti-smoking laws.
One of the NSA's members included famed talk show host Morton Downey, Jr.
Morton Downey, Jr.
Morton Downey, Jr. was an American singer, songwriter and later a television talk show host of the 1980s who pioneered the "trash TV" format on his program The Morton Downey Jr. Show....
; however, he gave up smoking after being diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in 1996; he died of the disease in 2001.
In 1999 tobacco company Philip Morris announced that it would withdraw funding after the NSA made an ethics complaint about John McCain.
External links
- National Smokers Alliance, The Voice of Reason, ca.October, 1993. Pamphlet-manifesto.
- Myron Levin, Smoker Group's Thick Wallet Raises Questions. Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1998. Retrieved April 22, 2011.