Keep On Lighting Up:
The Campaign to Kill the Electronic Cigarette
Intro:
Mash-up
Letterman and Rachel Ray first
Then move to news clips--- but organize them with multiple on screen emphasizing the chaos of the news coverage
Also possibly use ones that emphasize danger and uncertainty---- foreshadowing
Section Headings
Cigarette Burning time lapse
As the cig burns---- a new title for each section subheading
Scene 1: Meet a Believer
Introduces a protagonist
This will be an ex-smoker who has quit or drastically cut back by switching to e-cigs
(someone from Jerome’s store)
If I cannot find someone I will be the stand in
Scene 2: Meet a Vendor
Introduce Jerome: (my own narration)
Foreground him, his local business
Have him discuss how he got into the industry
For the satisfaction and the fact that he believes in the product
Here’s Jerome!
Scene 3: Inciting Incident
FDA sends warning letters to e-cig distributors---- first talk of heavily regulating or even banning the products
Highlight (using after effects) specific meaningful portions of that specific letter (attached)
Also, use after effects to enlarge text
Protagonist fears that a ban on e-cigs woud force a return to smoking---- and all the horrible health effects
Are these products really safe?
Meet a Doctor
Interview a Doctor at Florida Hospital’s Thoracic Cancer Clinic
Have not shot this yet---- hopefully will be able to
Show that doctors while maybe not fully endorsing the e-cig, definitely prefer it to their patients smoking traditional cigarettes
Medical Studies
Polosa, et al. 2011 study in Italy---
Pilot study concluded e-cig effective as cessation tool
FDA, however, finds trace amounts of “toxic chemicals”----
Claims chemical found in anti-freeze
--- they don’t mention that these quantities are far too small to do harm to humans (Tierney NYT)
---John Tierney NY Times article questions these findings
Scene 4: About the FDA
What is the FDA?
Family Prevention and Control Act (2009) This gave FDA authority to regulate tobacco
products
Talk about their efforts to curb smoking
Workplace bans, bans of “lights,” bans of flavors
FDA Decisions
Stossel article--- “The FDA Kills”
Article– “Does the FDA Secretly Want to Keep You Smoking”
Officials resigning
General controversy within the FDA
Medical devices issue and others
Lobbying
Influential people in the FDA leave for jobs in big tobacco and big pharma---- whats the term again?– FIND IT
Graphs of the lobbying spending by relevant groups
Lobbying $ Graphs
Harm Reduction Debate
Abstinence vs. Harm Reduction
Drug addiction, teen pregnancy --- methadone, contraception
Applied to cigarette smoking--- we must allow the e-cig
We must acknowledge that nicotine has benefits
Interview an anti-smoking advocate
Explain why even anti-smoking groups are against the e-cigarette
“Hospitals Helping Patients Quit” memo
Oklahoma Tobacco Helpline
Connect it back to myself
Explain that I, myself am an e-cig user and former smoker
Also connect back to the protagonist introduced in act 1
project's goal is to raise awareness about the product, its potential, and the effort to destroy it
Why isn't more being invested in this to save lives?