How Tobacco Companies Target Children

(Reprinted with permission from Smokefree Educational Services, Inc., 375 S. End Ave. Suite 32F, New York, NY 10280-3843, 212-269-3843)

Almost all smokers begin using cigarettes in their teens or pre-teens. If cigarette companies are to replace the 2.5 million adult smokers who die each year worldwide from lung and throat cancer, emphysema, and heart disease, they must attract children. Her are some of the ways they try:

· Sponsorship of rock concerts and sporting events. Cigarette companies sponsor rock concerts and other music festivals with substantial young audiences. They also sponsor many sporting events. Every major league baseball park has a Marlboro or Winston billboard. Although cigarette ads are banned on TV, the best camera angles in televised games include views of these brands. Philip Morris sponsors women's tennis through Virginia Slims brand. Many children believe that women tennis players smoke. By associating smoking with healthy activities, cigarette companies place doubt in people's minds, especially children's, about the healthy effects of smoking. Earlier this year, R.J. Reynolds sponsored a rock concert in Taiwan featuring local teen idol, Hsuow-Yu Chang. Tickets were not for sale at any price. Admission was five empty packs of Winstons.

· Vending Machines. Some vending machines sell both candy and cigarettes. And some are located in arcades where there are plenty of young people. Although most states ban cigarette sales to minors, children easily buy cigarettes from vending machines. Clearly, children get the wrong message about the dangers of smoking when cigarettes and candy are offered side by side. Former Surgeon General C. Everette Koop called for a ban on cigarette vending machines. Koop told a congressional committee, "There is no logical reason why we should have a double standard for controlling the sale of tobacco and alcohol. Would we tolerate the sale of alcoholic beverages through vending machines? Of course not." (Editor's note: Presently, the state of Minnesota has a goal of being "smoke-free" by the year 2000. In Minneapolis, a proposal to ban cigarette vending machines is presently being considered.)

· Free giveaways. Cigarette companies give away hundreds of millions of dollars worth of free cigarettes each year. These companies used to give away free samples in schools. Now they give away their samples new schools, in shopping centers, or other places where children hang out. In foreign countries, American cigarette companies often hire children to give out free samples.

· Movie Placements. Almost half of all movie goers are under 21 years of age. And almost every major motion picture has a central character who smokes. Philip Morns reportedly paid $350,000 for James Bond to smoke in the recent film "Licensed To Kill." James Bond is a hero to millions of children worldwide. His smoking will not go unnoticed among them.

· TV Guide. Cigarette ads are banned on TV because of TV's substantial and unavoidable audience of young people. Tobacco companies advertise heavily, how-ever, in TV Guide. And TV Guide is often one of the first publications children learn to read on a regular basis.