Image from HERE
It looks like the Aussie Tobacco Control's Globalink is losing some funding and has to stand to stand on it's own two networking feet, according to its
It says : "Over the past months we have all been alerted to the fact that Globalink will require new funding and administration in order to continue in 2012.
The dinosaur Puritans at Tobacco Control have realised that Facebook is a great, cheap, 21st Century tool for reaching mass audiences. However, it's open public nature is alien to the culture of secrecy employed by those at TC and its front groups like Globalink. They created a closed group to anyone but bigots and the intolerant.
They say : "Unlike Globalink, this group has no funding, no management committee, no constitution, no appeals mechanism for those we don’t allow to join and those we may have to exclude."
By "exclude", I assume they mean smokers but they don't mention us by name because they refuse to believe that we are a public grass roots, disorganised group and not paid, organised "moles" of Big Tobacco.
We welcome anyone working toward tobacco control goals. We don’t welcome anyone with tobacco industry ties and those who are regularly offensive
By "offensive" I assume they mean the angry consumers of a legal product who question their very questionable propaganda. Only by debate can we find out how such sanctimonious conclusions are reached and used as ammunition to impose further restrictions in society and divisions in our families and communities.
On the positive side, I guess they won't be spending much time in debate because of the hours they must have to waste in checking and re-checking applicants to their select Facebook club.
"We will do all we can to ensure only those with known track records or employment in tobacco control are admitted to the site. But we know from tobacco industry documents that Globalink has long been infiltrated and that people forward Globalink content to non‐members."
Excellent. At least the tobacco companies are doing something for their consumers when Tobacco Control's Globalink aims to plan further stigmatisation and denormalisation programmes for law abiding people whose only crime is that they won't do as Tobacco Control dictates.
The leaked memo ** shows ultimate hypocrisy within TC too. They slander smokers as people who are continually off ill, as people skiving for fag breaks, and yet they pour scorn on employers who don't let their tobacco control smokerphobic employees skive on FB.
Q "My employer won’t let me look at Facebook at work, so this group is a really terrible idea.
A Ok, we understand that some of you have employers who think you will waste the day playing online games and gazing at your friend’s baby photos unless your internet use is monitored or restricted."
I think that by hiding behind this veil of secrecy, and displaying its double standards, Tobacco Control is showing us how weak it really is.
** Disclaimer ** I picked up the Pdf leaked memo (without further comment) from Facebook where it was floating about. It was not given to me by anyone connected to the tobacco industry. I don't care where it came from. I'm glad I saw it.