The text of that exchange reads:
Q: Quick question, went to see The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo the other night and in the movie the main character goes in to a shop and asks for a pack of cigarettes by name of brand and is given the packet clearly showing the brand on the packet. Does this constitute advertising and if so isn't that illegal in Australia?
A: ASH (Action on Smoking and Health) Australia - Product placement is common practice and nothing much can be done about it when movies are made overseas unless regulated in country of origin. The author of the books sadly died in his 40s form (sic) smoking so pity that his heroes in the trilogy do so much smoking.
OK, I've blacked-out the questioner's name because he's a complete fucking moron, and no doubt a smokerphobe. And, um... OH NOES! There was someone asking for a pack of cigarettes in a film! The horror!
Right. Before I break this thing down (it won't take long, I promise), I don't expect everyone to get all the details right all of the time. It would be good if you got at least ONE of the details right. But ASH couldn't even manage that when answering the question.
First problem. The author, Stieg Larrson, did not die in his 40s. He was 50.
Second problem. The author did not die from smoking. Granted, he smoked a lot according to reports, perhaps as many as 60 per day. But he did not light a cigarette and suddenly die from it. No, he died from a heart attack after he had climbed seven flights of stairs because the lift was broken at his office. Was his heart attack caused by excessive smoking, or was it caused from a complete lack of exercise? Maybe it was both. He could have been killed by neo-Nazis! In any case, he did not die from smoking or only smoking. It was a combination of health issues (or a neo-Nazi conspiracy, maybe, but I'm not buying it) and, for him, at 50-years-old, an arduous stair climb. Like any good cult, you distort the facts to suit your agenda. Well done, ASH. Liars.
It's not a pity that his heroes "do so much smoking" either. But that's your opinion, and I'll let you have that one.
It's pretty sad that the guy who asked ASH that question thought that asking for a pack of smokes in a film constitutes advertising. It's a film, fuckface! It's fiction! It's not real!
So now you can see the mentality of people who support ASH, and you can see that ASH can't help but misinform their own supporters - don't worry about fact checking. Of course, we're not dealing with rocket scientists here, just the fake kind of science ASH believes in.
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| Stieg Larsson - Probably not an ASH supporter |
