Gretchen Wilson Pressed on Smokeless Tobacco

AP ^ | 8/25/05 | Rose French

[Crackingham]

The state attorney general wants the country singer who made the song "Redneck Woman" a hit to stop "glamorizing" the use of chewing tobacco at her concerts. State officials said Gretchen Wilson can be seen on concert jumbo screens pulling a can of Skoal from her pocket while performing her new song, "Skoal Ring." That may violate the 1998 settlement between states and tobacco companies forbidding tobacco ads targeting young people, Attorney General Paul Summers said.

"Many young people attend your concerts and purchase your music and T- shirts," Summers wrote in a letter he sent to Wilson Thursday. "Because your actions strongly influence the youth in your audience ... I ask you to take steps to warn young people of negative health effects of smokeless tobacco use."

Calls to Wilson's representatives at her music label Sony Music Nashville were not immediately returned Thursday.

Wilson won wide acclaim and a Grammy with her debut single "Redneck Woman."

The title of her song "Skoal Ring" refers to the wear mark left by carrying a can of chewing tobacco in a pocket of blue jeans. In the final verse of the song, Wilson sings that she gets turned on by the taste of smokeless tobacco on her man's lips.

The landmark $206 billion tobacco settlement "provided that advertisements such as this would be and should be prohibited," Summers said.

[Hot Tabasco]

As an example, my intent is to retire to Honduras, build a house and perhaps open a bar somewhere just to stay busy and meet people. The only obligation I will have is to own the establishment and do with it as I please.

Compare that to all the government bureaucracy you have to go thru here in order to open the same bar. Cripes, our liquor licenses alone cost in the tens of thousands of dolars........

[Gabz]

I like you plan :) I'll await the grand openning notice and invite :)

And don't forget in more and more bars around the US the government doesn't even let you light up a cigar in your own establishment..........

[patton]

I am still watching CMTV, and I have not seen her, yet:(

Wanna make a fortune? Rent a couple of parking spots in the garage at DFW across from gate C24, and put in a tiki bar.

[Gabz]

LOL!!!!!!!!!!

Lots of airports that would work at :)

[T.Smith]

Man, that stuff is just nasty to me. My dad used to threaten to make me eat any cigarette he ever caught me smoking. Yet, every time we would go fishing he would offer me a pinch of 'worm dirt'. I don't get it and I still have never put so much as a crumb of that stuff in my mouth.

[pissant]

Copenhagen is very tasty. Like oysters, once you acquire the taste, its tough to beat!

[pissant]

Cope still satisfies. I get it from the indians for $3.25.

[metesky]

Pardon me for saying so, but it looks like there are more boobs in the AG's office than on stage...

[CSM]

Thanks for the ping. Another example of fascist actions, I'm looking forward to the FReeper applause. This thread should be interesting.

[retrokitten]

This may take a little shine off Gretch for him...I'll be sure to tell him. LOL

The guy who sits across the aisle from me at work chews in his cube. He has this old Snapple bottle the he spits into. That thing is about 3/4 full. It makes me want to gag just thinking about.

[Betis70]

Yeah, bring it up everytime she is on! :P

As a teen your reaction was pretty much what we were going for. My football buddies and I would sit in movie theaters chomping on Red Man (in uptight CT) and during any dramatic pauses we would be sure to let loose with one of those long spits into our empty soda cups. I look back and sometimes wonder what was going through my head at the time.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

If Gretchen Wilson wants to look like this:

Then that's her right and the AG should shut the hell up. Me? I wouldn't touch this stuff even if I was promised a night out with Ann Coulter.

[dmz]

In 2 years we're all gonna be asking "Gretchen who?"

She is very quickly turning into a self-parody. IMHO only, of course.

[Betis70]

Yeah a couple of those photos made me quickly dump the habit (and for me it was just a habit).

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Smokeless tobacco has three times the nicotine than cigarettes because its highly concentrated doses. The stuff literally eats you alive. I read a story about a former baseball player who chewed snuff for years and then started giving speeches to players who were using it when he contracted oral cancer.

Now don't get me wrong - I'm not in favor of banning it or nothing - but if people want to have holes on the side of their mouths, be my guest.

[Extremely Extreme Extremist]

Does she swallow

Who cares, never bothered me whether they did or not..

I think his post was a little more tongue-in-cheek, if you catch my drift.... ;-)

[E Rocc]

So now instead of one can on display at her shows, several hundred fans will break them out.

Perhaps the busybodies can search people at the gates.

-Eric