About
Us
Artifacts
of the Epidemic – The Trinkets and Trash
Collection
contains current and historic examples of tobacco products,
promotional items, tobacco marketing materials and advertising.
The collection is available to public health practitioners and
the general public through this website (www.trinketsandtrash.org)
that provides easily searchable, high-quality digital images.
Trinkets
and Trash (T&T) acts as a surveillance system that monitors,
collects, and documents tobacco products and current tobacco
industry marketing tactics, such as: direct mail, bar/party
promotions, magazine advertisements, in-store promotions, and
new product development. As items are acquired by the collection,
they are each catalogued and photographed or scanned, and the
resulting images are uploaded to the website with accompanying
descriptive information. Through weekly updates to the website
and presentations at professional conferences, T&T works
to keep tobacco prevention practitioners up to date on the latest
products and marketing tactics employed by the industry.
Trinkets
and Trash has four primary purposes:
- To serve
as both a current surveillance system and as a historical
record of tobacco industry products, marketing and promotion
by documenting and illustrating industry products, trends,
promotional tactics, and target markets over time.
- To serve
as a source for scholarly research into tobacco industry products
and practices.
- To serve
as a tool for advocacy , by providing examples of past and
current promotional items which may be used in lobbying efforts
or in gaining public support for policy initiatives.
- To educate
the general public , especially youth, about the types of
tobacco industry practices, marketing and promotion used over
time, from its earliest days up to the present.
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|
Our
Founder, Dr. John Slade, Distinguished Leader in Addiction
Treatment and Tobacco Prevention. |
History
Trinkets
and Trash began as the personal collection of noted anti-tobacco
crusader John Slade, M.D. The late Dr. Slade spoke out vigorously
about the advertising and promotion of tobacco products, and
his knack for collecting tobacco promotional items (from T-shirts
to model cars) led to the creation of one of the largest repositories
of its kind, which he dubbed, "Trinkets & Trash."
Dr. Slade used the collection for presentations and loaned tobacco
industry promotional items and related materials to public health
workers and members of the media for educational purposes. Displays
from Trinkets & Trash have been nationally televised at
health fairs, seminars, press conferences and in federal court.
Items from the T&T collection were used as exhibits in many
of the litigation efforts against the tobacco industry during
the Clinton administration.
January
of 2002 saw the untimely passing of Dr. Slade. At that time,
the uncataloged collection was housed in four separate locations
and the website was in need of revision. M. Jane Lewis, DrPH,
a friend and colleague of Dr. Slade’s at the University
of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey – School of Public
Health, was named the new principal investigator of the Trinkets
and Trash project. During 2002-2003, the T&T collection
was cleaned, repacked and moved to a climate-controlled storage
facility. Each of these items was then photographed, catalogued,
and added to the website, thus organizing the existing collection
and creating a system for documenting new acquisitions.
Today
The
Trinkets &Trash project is continuing the vision of Dr.
Slade to serve as a “virtual” watchdog for tobacco
industry marketing practices. It is refining the presentation
of its historic items on the website, and is focusing on tracking
and documenting new products and tobacco marketing trends. |
