The National Smoker's Alliance (NSA) was an organization formed in 1993 to protest against
anti-smoking legislation in the United States. The NSA was a public relations group created and funded by the
tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies who are engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any ...
, 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 is the practice of masking the sponsors of a message or organization (e.g., political, advertising, religious or public relations) to make it appear as though it originates from and is supported by grassroots participants. It is a p ...
, the NSA employed
stealth marketing tactics to give the appearance of
grassroots
A grassroots movement is one that uses the people in a given district, region or community as the basis for a political or economic movement. Grassroots movements and organizations use collective action from the local level to effect change at t ...
opposition to anti-smoking laws.
One of the NSA's members included famed talk show host
Morton Downey, Jr.
Sean Morton Downey Jr. (December 9, 1932 – March 12, 2001) was an American television talk show host and actor who pioneered the "Tabloid talk show, trash TV" format in the late-1980s on his program ''The Morton Downey Jr. Show''.
Early life
...
;
however, he gave up smoking after being diagnosed with
lung cancer
Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...
in 1996 (and in doing so reversed his smoking stance to an anti-smoking one); 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
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
.
Philip Morris U.S.A. Withdraws Support for National Smokers Alliance; Condemns Personal Attack On Senator McCain
Business Wire, June 29, 1999
References
External links
* National Smokers Alliance
ca. October, 1993. Pamphlet-manifesto.
* Myron Levin
Smoker Group's Thick Wallet Raises Questions
Los Angeles Times. March 29, 1998. Retrieved April 22, 2011.
Business organizations based in the United States
Tobacco control
Smoking in the United States
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