Big Tobacco wants to increase cigarette sales in Florida, and they’re looking for Gators to help them do it.
Altria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris USA and the largest cigarette manufacturer in the country, will be at the Career Resource Center’s Career Showcase on Tuesday. The company is recruiting for a sales manager position in Florida. If you’ve seen a box of Marlboro cigarettes, you’ve seen what Altria produces.
The University of Florida promotes its tobacco-free policy with pride, yet Big Tobacco will be given the opportunity to grow, to thrive, to promote the use of products that, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, kill more than 400,000 people each year.
The university prohibited tobacco use on all university-owned property on July 1, 2010.
For the past three years, UF has encouraged students, faculty and visitors to remember and remind others about the policy whenever they see cigarettes, cigars, electronic cigarettes and similar products used on campus.
UF spokesman Steve Orlando told the Gainesville Sun in 2010 that UF adopted the policy “to help people live healthier lifestyles.” UF is proud of its position as a tobacco-free campus.
But where we see pride, Altria sees an opportunity to build its market. Altria sees UF’s brilliant students as people who can help sell cigarettes. But let’s be clear: When Altria sells more cigarettes, more people die.
Tobacco use is the No. 1 cause of preventable death in the United States, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. We spend more than $96 billion in health care expenditures related to tobacco-related illnesses each year. Florida alone spends more than $6 billion annually on health costs directly related to smoking, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids website.
I’m a proud Gator, but on Oct. 1, I’ll be a devastated one.
Big Tobacco will sit in the Stephen C. O’Connell Center and recruit my peers to sell tobacco products. Neither cigarettes nor Big Tobacco’s recruiters should be allowed on campus.
Tobacco is a legal product, but UF has made a decision to ban tobacco on campus.
If we’ve banned smoking on campus, we should not allow the industry to come and recruit our most talented students.
Gators should be faced with opportunities to give back to their communities, not given opportunities to sell products that will kill them.
Mina Radman is a UF journalism senior. This guest column ran on page 7 on 9/30/2013 under the headline "Big Tobacco should not be allowed to recruit on campus"
