- RJR’s “Project SCUM” Targeted Gays, the Homeless, Immigrants and Youth
“Project SCUM” was R.J. Reynolds’ plan to increase sales of Camel cigarettes in the San Francisco area by marketing them to gay people in the Castro district, “rebellious, Generation X” -ers, people of “international influence” and “street people,” by introducing Camel cigarettes into less-traditional retail outlets like “head shops.” SCUM was an acronym that stood for “Sub-Culture Urban Marketing.” RJR’s rationale for the project was a higher incidence of smoking and drug use in these subcultures.
- Tom Homan (Wikipedia)
Thomas Douglas Homan (born November 28, 1961) is an American former police officer, immigration official, and political commentator who served during Barack Obama’s presidency and the first Trump Administration. He served as acting director of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from January 30, 2017, to June 29, 2018. He advocates deportation and opposes sanctuary city policies. Within the Trump administration, he was among the most strident proponents of separating children from their parents as a means of deterring illegal entry into the country and curbing human trafficking. Since his retirement from government, he has been a Fox News contributor. Homan will serve as Trump’s “border czar” during Trump’s second presidency.
- Project SCUM (Wikipedia)
Project SCUM was a plan proposed in 1995 by R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) to sell cigarettes to members of the “alternative lifestyle” areas of San Francisco, in particular the large number of gay people in the Castro and homeless people in the Tenderloin. The acronym “SCUM” officially stood for “subculture urban marketing”. Perhaps recognizing the offensive nature of its label, the marketing plan was later renamed Project Sourdough.