[Licensed-to-Kill] L2K Expands into Lucrative Nigerian Market!

[Licensed to Kill, Inc]

  LICENSED TO KILL EXPANDS INTO LUCRATIVE NIGERIAN MARKET

On February 20, 2004, Licensed to Kill, Inc held a well-attended press
conference at the International Press Centre in Lagos, Nigeria to
introduce Nigerian media to the newest multinational tobacco corporation
to enter the Nigerian market.
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/150rc.jpg

Licensed to Kill's Senior VP for Corporate Communications, Corrie "Core"
Prutspin began by giving the journalists a brief history of the company
and distributing copies of the company's articles of incorporation
(which explicitly state the company's purpose: "to manufacture and
market tobacco products in a way that each year kills more than 400,000
Americans and 4.5 million other persons worldwide").
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/articles.html

She then informed the journalists that it was a real honor to have Rich
Fromdeth, the CEO and Chairman of the company himself, present at the
press conference. Soon after, Fromdeth rose to unveil the company's
slogan "We're Rich, You're Dead!" to the gasps of many reporters.
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/158rc.jpg

The Senior VP went on to address the reason for the company's visit to
Nigeria. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, with well over
100 million people -- over half of which are under the age of 15. This
large, very young, and rapidly growing population spells J-A-C-K-P-O-T
for a company like Licensed to Kill!

To facilitate its expansion into the very lucrative Nigerian market,
Licensed to Kill has chosen to open up a Nigeria branch office in Lagos.
The corporations's chief competitor in the country is British American
Tobacco (BAT), which claims to be "Proudly Nigerian" (according to the
company's public relations campaign which seeks to portray BAT as firmly
rooted in Nigerian society).

Unlike BAT, Licensed to Kill does not claim to be "Nigerian." It is,
however, quite proud of its profitable business. Licensed to Kill took
the opportunity of press conference to announce the launching of its own
Nigerian public relations campaign, "Proudly Killing Nigerians," which
the company feels more accurately describes what its business is all about.
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/162rc.jpg
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/161rc.jpg

The Senior VP informed assembled journalists that Licensed to Kill is
seeking tax breaks from the Nigerian government to build a new factory
outside Lagos -- just as BAT received for building a factory in Ibadan.
"Our products may eventually kill 100,000's of Nigerians," said
Prutspin, "but isn't this is a small price to pay for the creation of
1,000 new jobs?"

Prutspin then mentioned a new report by the British Medical Association
on "Smoking and Reproductive Life" and noted that smokers are 50% more
likely to suffer from impotence than nonsmokers. "In the UK alone," she
said, "it is estimated that 120,000 men aged 30-50 years are impotent
because of smoking." The CEO and Senior VP then unveiled Licensed to
Kill's newest cigarette brand, weak organ=99, designed specifically for
Nigerian males.
Read the report:
http://www.bma.org.uk/ap.nsf/Content/SmokingReproductiveLife?OpenDocument&H=
ighlight=3D2,impotence

Licensed to Kill hopes that its weak organ=99 brand will help its male
customers come to terms with their smoking-caused erectile dysfunction.
"We want our customers to know that we care about them...and least their
money," said Prutspin,"In the end, the only size that really matters is
that of our customers' wallets!"
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/164rc.jpg
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/165rc.jpg

CEO Rich Fromdeth then came to the podium to speak of Licensed to Kill's
disgust with anti-tobacco activists who buzz around annoyingly like
mosquitos and to detail the company's strategy of thwarting tobacco
control legislation: keep the media away from the health issue!(an
effective strategy that has long been employed by the tobacco industry
in Nigeria:
http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/cgi/getdoc?tid=3Dnsg58d00&fmt=3Dpdf&ref=3Dre=
sults
<http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/167rc.jpg>)

<http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/167rc.jpg>View photos
of Rich Fromdeth:
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/167rc.jpg
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/168rc.jpg
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/169rc.jpg

Lastly, Licensed to Kill's new Nigerian Director, Gray Vastone, was
introduced. Among other things, he mentioned the company's two-pronged
approach to boosting profits in Nigeria: 1) sell lots of cigarettes. 2)
expoit tobacco farmers (the less they get paid, the more money the
company saves)
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/172rc.jpg
<http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/148aw.jpg>

Nigerian and U.S. Licensed to Kill Execs: Solidarity across borders in
selling death!
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/148aw.jpg

QUESTIONS FROM NIGERIAN JOURNALISTS

Once the Licensed to Kill executives finished speaking, a number of
Nigerian journalists rose to ask questions. Here are a few of the
questions posed:

1) Do you have a factory that actually manufactures cigarettes?
2) Your company is unique. How successful is it? What is the level of
reception?
3) If your company knows that tobacco kills, what is the moral value
behind your business?
4) Do you really have such a brand? And does your company have a
conscience?

The Senior VP responded by saying that tobacco is a legal product and
that it is the company's right, in a global free market economy, to sell
death if it wants to. The company is simply not doing anything wrong.

PRESS COVERAGE

In addition to significant television and radio coverage, the press
conference sparked numerous newspaper and magazine articles.
Unfortunately, the journalists apparently left with the impression that
our executives were tobacco control advocates in disguise. It just goes
to show you how difficult it is for some people to believe that there
could be a tobacco company that actually tells the truth!
<http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/wafr04/thisdayonline.html>

Punch: A company, licensed to kill (March 8, 2004)
page 1: http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/wafr04/punch1.jpg
page 2: http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/wafr04/punch2.jpg

The Insider: Smoking to Kill (March 8, 2004)
page 1: http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/wafr04/insider1.jpg
page 2: http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/wafr04/insider2.jpg

Vanguard: Cigarettes as Licensed Killer (March 3, 2004)
http://www.vanguardngr.com/articles/2002/features/fe803032004.html

New Age Online: A novel way to fight tobacco
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/wafr04/newageonline.html

This Day Online: 'Tobacco Kills over 4.8m Annually'
http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/wafr04/thisdayonline.html

For more photos from Licensed to Kill's trip to West Africa, including
additional photos from the press conference, go to:
http://www.licensedtokill.biz/photos/wafrica2004/

Licensed to Kill has also had a 7-minute video produced, featuring the
main highlights of the press conference. For information on ordering,
contact Licensed to Kill at: tobacco@licensedtokill.biz