Kicking APCO's Habit

To the Editor, PR Watch:

I am amused to see that I have been included as the "media contact person" for APCO/TASSC during the early 1990s, according to "How Big Tobacco Helped Create the Junkman" (PR Watch, vol. 7, no. 3).

While it is true that I served this role for all of two months, I did so for one reason only: to attempt to prove to other APCO employees that company management gives larger bonuses to employees who work on tobacco issues -- not exactly the employee incentive program that business schools write about.

I got my bonus check, deposited it, and promptly quit when the check cleared. I was disgusted to learn that APCO's addiction to tobacco was, in my opinion, worse than that of any nicotine addict I know. I would appreciate it if your Web site were amended to note that my decision to work on behalf of TAASC was NOT to promote tobacco, but instead to be in a better position to inform my colleagues of my opinions about the company's addiction.

--David Sheon