Business and Administrative Communication 10th Edition by Kitty Locker,Donna Kienzler

Exercise 27

Evaluating Persuasion Strategies
In June 2009, the Lorillard Tobacco Company responded to new legislation regulating the tobacco industry with a full-page ad in the Wall Street Journal. With a classmate or in a small group, evaluate the ad to pick out its persuasion strategies. Use the following questions in your evaluation:
What audience is this message intended to reach
What strategies does the message use in its introduction and conclusion
What persuasion strategies does the message use
Which phrases are designed to create emotion in readers
How does the corporate author of the message affect how you perceive the persuasive arguments How would your perceptions change if this same message were written by a government watchdog group an antitobacco group
Write a memo to your instructor with your evaluation of the ad.
FDA-Tobacco Regulation: Truth and Consequences
As the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R.1256/S.982)- which mandates that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulate the tobacco industry-moves through the U.S. Senate, this is a critical time for lawmakers and all Americans to take a closer look at the major flaws in this legislation, and consider the serious consequences that could result.
The FDA Is the Wrong Agency
Putting the FDA in charge of an inherently dangerous product is inconsistent with the agency's mission to ensure the safety and efficacy of our nation's food, drugs, biologics, and medical devices. With the legacy of recent food and drug contaminations still reverberating, the FDA is an agency that is already overwhelmed in its mission to protect Americans. A March 2009 poll by the American Society for Quality (ASQ) reveals that Americans are losing confidence in the FDA's "Gold Standard" ability to protect the nation's food and drug supply. The survey found 61 percent of U.S. adults feel the food recall process in only fair or poor, while 73 percent of adults say they are as equally concerned about food safety as the war on terror.
A Boost to the Black Market
History clearly demonstrates that when consumer choice is thwarted by government policy, whether through exorbitant taxes, regulatory burdens, or outright bans, black markets arise to take advantage of the situation. This legislation will increase the price of tobacco products in order to pay for FDA regulation, which will only make it more lucrative and attractive for those who want to illegally profit (and likely deprive the federal and state governments of billions of dollars in taxes as a result) from this regulatory effort. And with huge profits-and low penalties for arrest and conviction - illicit cigarette trafficking now has begun to rival drug trafficking as a funding choice for terrorist groups. A congressional investigation led by Rep. Peter King (R-NY), ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee, in April 2008 found that cigarette smugglers with ties to terrorist groups are acquiring millions of dollars from illegal cigarette sales and funneling the cash to organizations such as al Qaeda and Hezbollah.
Prohibition in Disguise
We believe the proponents of these new regulations would like nothing more than to outlaw smoking completely in our society. This bill is but a first big step in that direction, allowing the FDA to mandate changes to cigarettes as we know them and prevent new, potentially safer products from entering the marketplace. Should we let the FDA prohibit smoking or demand that the American people and those they elect to make such important decisions be the final arbiter of this issue
A Blow to Safer Products
The regulations in this legislation would also require that the FDA approve any new tobacco product that claims to lessen the risk from smoking before it can be marketed. However, the standard that such new product must meet-that it is appropriate for the protection of the public health, determined with respect to the risks and benefits to the population as a whole, including users and non-users of the tobacco product-may well be impossible to meet, thereby assuring that no safer products ever come to market. Indeed, this bill will stifle the innovation that may provide promising hope for safer, less harmful tobacco products.
With respect to these specific issues, we urge the Senate to thoroughly review the current legislation and find an effective and different regulatory solution.
Lorillard Tobacco Company
Source: Lorillard Tobacco Company, "FDA-Tobacco Regulation: Truth and Consequences," advertisement, Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2009, A7.