Calling out Philip Morris

Who called for Philip Morris?

In a move so wrong-headed — or so diabolically devious it defies analysis — the tobacco giant has singled out Salt Lake City as one of three cities in the nation to play guinea pig for its new Marlboro UltraSmooths, a new brand of coffin nail with carbon in the filter.

The ploy is puzzling because Salt Lake City is known for its anti-tobacco sentiments — especially now with Mayor Rocky Anderson pushing hard to keep cigarette smokers at bay at the airport and away from clubs and other places where employees are at risk from secondhand smoke.

In fact, given the tenor of the times in the nation as a whole, now seems an odd time to be pitching any new form of "nicotine delivery systems" to the public.

In Maine, a ski resort has banned smoking outdoors as well as indoors. Smoking on the lifts, in the lines and on the hills is now taboo there. The trend is expected to catch on. There is also a movement afoot to make any movie featuring smoking an automatic "R" rated film. If movies can get kids to eat certain foods and drive certain cars simply by "product placement," the thinking goes, then movies can also entice kids to smoke. And proponents of the idea cite studies showing as many as 200,000 children say glamorous stars helped ease their way into the nicotine habit.

Besides, given all the information available on the ills of lighting up, few if any smokers will believe carbon-filtered UltraSmooths will keep them out of the ICU. Even making the popular Marlboro brand more inviting can't change the facts.

Smoking UltraSmooths — or even UltraRoughs — will eventually kill you.

New Yorkers are proud of saying that if you can make it there, you can make it anywhere. Apparently, Philip Morris believes if people will smoke the new Marlboros in Salt Lake City, they'll smoke them anywhere.

We're encouraged that local watchdogs will be monitoring the situation carefully. We're also encouraged that people who do smoke realize carbon won't keep them from getting cancer.

And we'd like to encourage Salt Lake City residents to teach big tobacco a lesson. Philip Morris thinks it can turn the state's capital city into a test site for a dangerous drug without much ado. Cigarettes kill. If Philip Morris tries to say differently, local citizens need to let the company know it is just blowing smoke.