Sloan, Marcus, featured in anti-smoking billboards
By Tim Gallagher | Posted: Monday, December 15, 2008
An anti-tabacco billboard along the Floyd viaduct. (Staff photo by Jim Lee)
SIOUX CITY -- Tracy Mertz slowed her vehicle to a stop during a recent shopping outing along Singing Hills in Sioux City recently.
A billboard caught her son's eye. And his cell phone camera.
"I was near Outback Steakhouse when my son said, 'Oh my God, Mom! That sign says Sloan!"
The family resides in Sloan, a Woodbury County community Mertz serves as city clerk.
The billboard featured Sloan's "A Place to Grow" slogan and town sign. It also said, "Tobacco Can Kill This Town in 1 Day."
"We were at the stoplight anyway, so he told me to wait so he could take a picture of the billboard with his cell phone," said Mertz. Soon, her 14-year-old son Jason was e-mailing the picture to his buddies in Sloan.
The billboard is the brainchild of the Just Eliminate Lies campaign, which falls under the Iowa Department of Public Health. Just Eliminate Lies (JEL) is an organization which aims to cut smoking among young people. The Sloan billboard is part of the group's 1.2 million "What Town Is Next" campaign. The blitz also included three television spots, including one that focused on Arnolds Park, population 1,162.
Garin Buttermore, JEL coordinator for the Iowa Department of Public Health, contends the effects of smoking can kill some 1,200 Americans per day. Rather than simply use that figure, his group illustrated it by featuring Iowa towns whose population is around 1,200.
The 2000 Census shows Sloan at 1,032 people. There are eight such billboards in Sioux City, a portion dedicated to Sloan and a portion dedicated to Marcus, population 1,139. All told, there are 84 different billboards in Iowa in 23 cities.
Lake View boards changed
The only other Siouxland community featured was Lake View, population 1,278, which was shown in billboards in Carroll and Sac City. Those billboards were altered after state Sen. Steve Kettering of Lake View sent letters complaining about the possible adverse impact to Lake View's tourism draw. His point: Lake View isn't dead; it's very much alive.
"While JEL is attempting to push a message through the use of shock value that tobacco kills, I am concerned the only shock that will come of this is a decrease in our tourist economy," he wrote.
"Lake View asked us to remove the billboards and we did," said Buttermore, who gave his side of the issue at a recent city council meeting in the Sac County town. "I understand their frustration. They mentioned their side, which we can definitely see."
Those billboards now show information about QuitLine, a smoking cessation program.
The issue in Lake View may have done what JEL officials wanted to achieve: It got people talking about tobacco use.
"This is designed to try to keep people from using tobacco," said Buttermore, a Des Moines native. "The message is geared to resonate with 13- to 24-year-olds. If you say 'Tobacco is bad for you,' a high schooler won't listen. But if you equate it to Lake View, a place where a young person might play sports against, or a place where they spend their Fourth of July, it puts it on real terms."
It did for Mertz's son. And for Tracy Mertz, a smoker.
"I smoked for years, then quit for eight years and then went back," she said.
After her son took the picture during their shopping trip, they talked about her smoking. And, yes, she said, her son again asked her to quit.
"I'm 100 percent in favor of it," said Cliff Ping, a longtime trustee at a local hospital and a resident of Sloan. "I realize people have the right to smoke, but they get sick and taxpayers have to pick up the bill. I don't care what town they use."
Darrell Downs, now in his 10th year as mayor of Marcus, supports the mission of the campaign, but didn't like JEL's tactics. He learned Marcus was on a Sioux City billboard after a resident the Cherokee County town noticed it.
"I wish I would have been notified," Downs said. "I thought that was very unprofessional."
Buttermore concedes his group could have handled the situation better from a public relations standpoint.
"In these billboards there's an actual shot of each town. It's often the town's welcome sign," said Buttermore. "We did not talk to the officials (in those towns) about that. We have contacted each town since and we're getting some feedback. That did cause a lot of strife."
Downs was alarmed to learn Sunday his town was also featured on billboards in Le Mars and Sibley.
"How did I get so popular?" he asked. "If state grants were awarded in the same way, would Marcus get that many?"
By the numbers
The Iowa Department of Public Health provided these statistics related to smoking.
$13.4 billion -- Annual tobacco industry marketing expenditures in U.S.
$176 million -- Estimated portion spent for Iowa marketing annually
4,000 -- Children under 18 who become new daily smokers each year
$1 billion -- Annual health-care costs in Iowa directly caused by smoking
A billboard caught her son's eye. And his cell phone camera.
"I was near Outback Steakhouse when my son said, 'Oh my God, Mom! That sign says Sloan!"
The family resides in Sloan, a Woodbury County community Mertz serves as city clerk.
The billboard featured Sloan's "A Place to Grow" slogan and town sign. It also said, "Tobacco Can Kill This Town in 1 Day."
"We were at the stoplight anyway, so he told me to wait so he could take a picture of the billboard with his cell phone," said Mertz. Soon, her 14-year-old son Jason was e-mailing the picture to his buddies in Sloan.
The billboard is the brainchild of the Just Eliminate Lies campaign, which falls under the Iowa Department of Public Health. Just Eliminate Lies (JEL) is an organization which aims to cut smoking among young people. The Sloan billboard is part of the group's 1.2 million "What Town Is Next" campaign. The blitz also included three television spots, including one that focused on Arnolds Park, population 1,162.
Garin Buttermore, JEL coordinator for the Iowa Department of Public Health, contends the effects of smoking can kill some 1,200 Americans per day. Rather than simply use that figure, his group illustrated it by featuring Iowa towns whose population is around 1,200.
The 2000 Census shows Sloan at 1,032 people. There are eight such billboards in Sioux City, a portion dedicated to Sloan and a portion dedicated to Marcus, population 1,139. All told, there are 84 different billboards in Iowa in 23 cities.
Lake View boards changed
The only other Siouxland community featured was Lake View, population 1,278, which was shown in billboards in Carroll and Sac City. Those billboards were altered after state Sen. Steve Kettering of Lake View sent letters complaining about the possible adverse impact to Lake View's tourism draw. His point: Lake View isn't dead; it's very much alive.
"While JEL is attempting to push a message through the use of shock value that tobacco kills, I am concerned the only shock that will come of this is a decrease in our tourist economy," he wrote.
"Lake View asked us to remove the billboards and we did," said Buttermore, who gave his side of the issue at a recent city council meeting in the Sac County town. "I understand their frustration. They mentioned their side, which we can definitely see."
Those billboards now show information about QuitLine, a smoking cessation program.
The issue in Lake View may have done what JEL officials wanted to achieve: It got people talking about tobacco use.
"This is designed to try to keep people from using tobacco," said Buttermore, a Des Moines native. "The message is geared to resonate with 13- to 24-year-olds. If you say 'Tobacco is bad for you,' a high schooler won't listen. But if you equate it to Lake View, a place where a young person might play sports against, or a place where they spend their Fourth of July, it puts it on real terms."
It did for Mertz's son. And for Tracy Mertz, a smoker.
"I smoked for years, then quit for eight years and then went back," she said.
After her son took the picture during their shopping trip, they talked about her smoking. And, yes, she said, her son again asked her to quit.
"I'm 100 percent in favor of it," said Cliff Ping, a longtime trustee at a local hospital and a resident of Sloan. "I realize people have the right to smoke, but they get sick and taxpayers have to pick up the bill. I don't care what town they use."
Darrell Downs, now in his 10th year as mayor of Marcus, supports the mission of the campaign, but didn't like JEL's tactics. He learned Marcus was on a Sioux City billboard after a resident the Cherokee County town noticed it.
"I wish I would have been notified," Downs said. "I thought that was very unprofessional."
Buttermore concedes his group could have handled the situation better from a public relations standpoint.
"In these billboards there's an actual shot of each town. It's often the town's welcome sign," said Buttermore. "We did not talk to the officials (in those towns) about that. We have contacted each town since and we're getting some feedback. That did cause a lot of strife."
Downs was alarmed to learn Sunday his town was also featured on billboards in Le Mars and Sibley.
"How did I get so popular?" he asked. "If state grants were awarded in the same way, would Marcus get that many?"
By the numbers
The Iowa Department of Public Health provided these statistics related to smoking.
$13.4 billion -- Annual tobacco industry marketing expenditures in U.S.
$176 million -- Estimated portion spent for Iowa marketing annually
4,000 -- Children under 18 who become new daily smokers each year
$1 billion -- Annual health-care costs in Iowa directly caused by smoking
Story Comments
Read More and Post Comments 17 comment(s)
Please note: The following are comments from readers. In no way do they represent the views of The Sioux City Journal or Lee Enterprises. We will not edit or alter your comments, but we do reserve the right to not post or to remove comments that violate our code of conduct. No comment may contain potentially libelous statements; obscene, explicit or racist language; personal attacks, insults or threats. Terms of Service
bob wrote on Dec 17, 2008 8:11 PM:
Bye Bye, Marcus!!! "
Jel Representative wrote on Dec 16, 2008 2:41 PM:
to Paul wrote on Dec 16, 2008 2:23 AM:
hello wrote on Dec 16, 2008 1:44 AM:
Paul wrote on Dec 15, 2008 5:29 PM: