Protest targets smoking

"You've come the wrong way, baby." That is what a handful of protesters rallying against the Virginia Slims Tennis Tournament shouted to pedestrians yesterday at the Philadelphia Convention Center at 12th and Arch streets, where the tournament is being held. As a drummer beat a slow funeral march, the demonstrators circled a coffin covered in dead roses, tennis rackets, and packs of Virginia Slims cigarettes. Jagged white letters on one side of the coffin spelled out "Philip Morris Peddles Death to Children." Ruth Ever, coordinator of Tobacco-free Education and Action Coalition for Health (TEACH), which sponsored the protest, said the group's message was an important one. "We're protesting because we feel tobacco and women's sports don't make a match," she said. "Tobacco is the most deadly drug in our country." Smirking, Philadelphia resident Dave Kogbas lit a cigarette and watched as the protesters waved signs reading "Tobacco and Sports is a Real Racquet" at drivers stuck in a traffic jam at the Arch Street intersection. "People with too much free time should watch more television -- violent television," he said. "They are just as much a nuisance to people walking by as a smoker in the non-smoking section." Bill Godshall, who carried a sign reading "Philip Morris is a Drug Pusher," said he harbored a particular resentment for the tobacco company owner, though. "Jen Capriati was thrown out of this tournament for marijuana use, and they let her back into an event sponsored by the pusher of a far deadlier drug," said Godshall, who travelled from Pittsburgh to join the protest. Although protesters clad in "Dr. Death" Halloween costumes tried to hand out literature detailing the health risks of women smokers, passersby said they were indifferent to TEACH's cause. Mildred McGill walked straight through the demonstration without even looking at the protesters. "Well you know what, I didn't even notice that -- isn't that something," she said. "To tell you the truth, I hadn't made the connection [between smoking and tennis.]" Philadelphia resident Scott Ball said he found TEACH members irritating. "If these people really want to make a change, they need to re-focus their energy," he said. "This is kind of annoying." But protesters said their message needs to be heard. Patricia Heary, a New Jersey resident who held a sign which said "Throw tobacco out of sports," said she was taking a stand because she was worried about her children. "I'm a concerned mother," she said. "I have a daughter who is just learning how to read, and the easiest thing to read are billboards [advertising cigarettes]." Philip Morris spokesperson Tara Carraro was at the demonstration to give the tobacco company's "side of the story." But she refused to speak to The Daily Pennsylvanian because she said she did not feel it was right to discuss cigarettes with anyone under 21. "It's our policy not to comment to anyone under 21," Carraro said. "It would give the wrong image -- we are targeting cigarettes at adults only."