| Section | Link to Section |
|---|---|
| FDA Communications | Leading FDA Communications On Vaping And Nicotine Was Crosby. |
| Future Of Truth | The Future Of Truth: Promoting The "Endgame" Of Nicotine |
No one will be surprised to learn that Robin Koval, the president and CEO of Truth Initiative, an organization that fights tobacco use, is leaving to be replaced by a senior official from the FDA Center for Tobacco Products (CTP). Truth is already in close collaboration with CTP and other governmental organizations as a private non-profit.
Truth will be led by Kathleen Crosby, who is currently the director of the CTP Office of Health Communication and Education, starting in October. Similar to departing CEO Koval, Crosby spent many years in the advertising sector prior to her time at the FDA.
She managed the "Truth" campaign for the American Legacy Foundation while serving as vice president at the Boston-based advertising agency Arnold Worldwide prior to her nine years at the Ad Council. Truth Initiative was the new name for Legacy after that anti-smoking campaign.
According to a press release, Crosby stated, "I can't think of a better time or place to continue advocating for positive change. Leading Truth Initiative feels like home." "There has never been a better chance to support individuals in quitting tobacco, and I am excited about the work that lies ahead."
Leading FDA Communications On Vaping And Nicotine Was Crosby.
Since taking over as head of CTP communications in 2011, Crosby has been in charge of the FDA's public outreach about vaping, smoking, and nicotine, all of which are not at all instructive.
The 2018 Real Cost campaign "Epidemic," in which unfortunate teenage vapers were infested with worm-like parasites that crawled beneath their skin, marked the beginning of the FDA's youth-focused anti-vaping advertising initiatives.
"An epidemic is spreading," the announcer of the advertisement stated. According to scientists, it can alter your brain. It may release harmful substances into your bloodstream, such as formaldehyde. It may expose you to acrolein, which can harm your lungs permanently. It's not an illness, a virus, or a parasite. It's vaporizing.
Subsequent anti-vaping campaigns included a magician who converted vapes into cigarettes, shame and stigma akin to the Drug War, and a partnership with Marvel Comics wherein a whole school succumbs to vaping-induced "mind control."
Since that is all that exists, we simply included the messaging aimed at teenagers. Though they occasionally mention that vaping is less dangerous than smoking, Crosby and the CTP, led by previous director Mitch Zeller and current director Brian King, have never felt it is appropriate to interact with adults who smoke. (Recently, CTP announced a funding to support studies concerning “the impact that tobacco product risk continuum messaging may have on various segments of the population.” And today, Brian King speculated about the potential for adult-targeted messages in an editorial he co-wrote for the journal Addiction.)
The Future Of Truth: Promoting The "Endgame" Of Nicotine
Establishing Truth Initiative (formerly known as the American Legacy Foundation) was a component of the 1999 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between the tobacco industry and 46 U.S. states. Truth's first $1.5 billion in funding was followed by no MSA funding; yet, the organization was able to sustain its fortune through strategic fundraising and investments. Truth's 2021 asset total was approximately $900 million.
The Schroeder Institute for Tobacco Research and Policy Studies was established by Truth, who also hired some of the top tobacco experts in the nation, such as David Abrams, Ray Niaura, Allison Glasser, Andrea Villanti, and Jennifer Pearson. The majority of the research team supported tobacco harm reduction and vaping.
Like Crosby, Robin Koval is a product of the advertising industry. She co-founded and oversaw the Kaplan Thaler Group, a New York advertising agency, prior to joining Truth in 2013. After Cheryl Healton left as CEO in 2012, Koval rebranded Legacy Truth and joined the other major private tobacco control group in the United States, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, in advocating a strong stance against vaping and nicotine. Truth's once-strong research group withered into a rubber stamp that provided "scientific" justification for Truth's political views when many of the Schroeder scientists left.
Truth has now made the bold decision to go farther than other tobacco control groups have ventured, advocating for the complete banning of all nicotine-containing consumer goods as part of a tobacco and nicotine "endgame." The group recommends implementing a "set of policies and strategies to move to a time when commercial tobacco and nicotine, with the exception of FDA-approved medications, are no longer used" in a paper titled "Gamechanger," which was released in July.
As Truth's new CEO, Kathleen Crosby will be in charge of directing the transition from tobacco control to "the end of tobacco."
