Up From the Ashes: The Fight for a New Tobacco Act

If you are lacking frustration and intrigue in your life, might I suggest that you join a group that does battle with the tobacco industry? In this award-winning sequel to Lobbying for Lives, we see that even in a country as mild-mannered as Canada, the health community and tobacco companies have been fighting for years over federal tobacco control legislation. Concentrating on the feud over the country's 1997 federal Tobacco Act, and in particular over the industry's sponsorship of arts and sports events, this anti-smoking, well-done tape includes interviews with politicians, lobbyists, and journalists, as well as documentary footage and news media excerpts. After what turned out to be a rather absorbing chain of events, the Act did pass, but the arts-sponsorship provisions have seriously eroded since then, and, of course, the battle rages on. Although the longevity of tapes like this is questionable (i.e., because this issue is in a constant state of flux, how smart is it, really, to buy a tape that focuses so narrowly on one country's experience, during one particular year?), Up From the Ashes could become a valuable teaching tool on anti-tobacco lobbying for those agencies that can afford its somewhat pricey sticker. [Note: See the note on "Free Videos" on pg. 4 of this issue for information on an excellent free documentary charting the history of the battle between the U.S. tobacco companies and medical and legislative authorities.] Aud: C, P. (K. Glaser)