Smoking Heads
It’s a good thing the traffic eased up and the taxi reached my destination, because I was starting to get ticked off. As you may have heard, the Eraserheads are having a reunion concert on August 30. On an AM radio station, two representatives of the Department of Health were discussing the legal issues surrounding the event, which was organized by a cigarette company. A DOH spokesman explained that effective July 1, cigarette advertising and promotions, including sponsorships of shows etc, is banned, and therefore the Eraserheads show violates the law. So he called on the Eheads to “think of the youth”, “do the right thing” etc, and decline to do the concert, for which they have reportedly been paid between 2 and 10 million pesos. He noted that by choosing the Eheads to do the show, the cigarette company is obviously targeting young people. Otherwise, he added, the cancerstick makers would’ve hired Pavarotti or Banyuhay.
a. The cancerstick people did not get Pavarotti to do a concert, because Pavarotti is dead. Not to disparage Banyuhay, but they were not the most popular, most influential band of the 90s. As for hitting the youth market, the Eheads have not played together for many years, and their audience is no longer young.
b. If the concert is indeed illegal, then the DOH should go after the cancerstick company, not the band. Of course, it is easier to take on a disbanded band than a rich and powerful multinational corporation.Â
c. Yes, the Eraserheads are doing the show for money. Newsflash: Unless one is born independently wealthy, one does things for money. As far as I know, they have never been anti-smoking advocates, and therefore are not selling their principles by agreeing to appear in a show sponsored by carcinogens. Money itself is not evil. Sanctimoniousness pisses me off.
d. Granted, my opinion is colored by the fact that I worked with the Eheads, I remain on good terms with all of them, and I’ve wormed myself into the guest list.
e. I do not smoke, and I have never smoked, but if people want to kill themselves with tar and nicotine they are free to do so, provided they do not smoke in my presence.
Answers to questions you might be asking, unless you wandered onto this site purely by accident >>>
August 9th, 2008 at 20:23
So where can we get tickets?..any idea?
August 9th, 2008 at 22:36
Aug. 30 at the Bonifacio Global City open grounds. Admission is free but you have to secure an invite through http://www.marlboro.com.ph. And you must be at least 18 y.o.
August 10th, 2008 at 00:30
from what i heard, you have to join the Marlboro Red List.
August 10th, 2008 at 03:12
hayyy…i really never tried smoking. i saw my mom almost died of lung problem….
August 10th, 2008 at 14:20
My husband and I have not touched a cigarette since we were born but we’re watching that concert what ever it takes (we were among those who joined that list weeks ago). I was in grade 6 when I first heard “Pare Ko” and my life was never the same again. Does this mean we will be smoke-heads after watching the concert (out of courtesy to the company – I guess)? Who is crazy enough to assume that? Oh yeah. There are people that stupid.
August 12th, 2008 at 00:55
I remember coming back after a few months working abroad and finding my preschool age nieces and nephews singing along to Eheads songs from their first CD. That got me hooked and learning later on that, like myself, the band members came from UP, sealed the attraction.
I also remember years later seeing the movie “The Insider†which told the story of how cigarette manufacturers cultivated and concealed the addictive nature of their product for decades, getting away with causing thousands upon thousands of premature deaths worldwide. With alcohol and even illegal drugs, people knew what they were in for (I knew); but it was their systematic deception that raised Marlboro makers and their ilk to being the most nefariously malfeasant industry ever.
“Everyone does things for money†– sure, but doesn’t one have to consider the source of that money? This is the incantation of every politician on the take. The Beatles, who’s worship the band (especially Ely) has never made a secret of, remained true to themselves and did not reunite even for a most noble cause – a UN benefit for Indochinese refugees. This Marlboro-backed reunion is a very cynical way for them to come back together.
Perhaps I’m taking this all too seriously – as the Stones said “it’s only Rock-N-Roll and I like it†and I’m sure Eheads fans will – but some things count for more than rock-n-roll.
August 23rd, 2008 at 21:45
I consider myself a fan more than most of my friends. I’ve listened to all of their albums repeatedly. My favorite songs aren’t the popular hits.
But when I learned that I had to sign up to Marlboro’s Red List, my mind was instantly made up: I had to live with my decision to miss their one-night-only reunion concert.
I am not a smoker, and I don’t want to support a cigarette company however indirectly. I will not include myself in their statistics.