Tobacco Industry
Initiatives on Youth
Smoking
Clive Bates
Action on Smoking and Health
Action on Smoking and Health
Tobacco Industry
Youth Smoking Initiatives
3 main themes
1. Responsible marketing
2. Only adults should smoke
3. Reduce access to cigarettes
Action on Smoking and Health
Tobacco Industry
Youth Smoking Initiatives
Excellent PR
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Promotes laissez faire for adults
Plays well in the media and politics
Leaves critics disorientated
Offers links to governments
Impossible problem for regulators
AND WILL NOT WORK!
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Market realities
‘‘ The younger smoker is of pre-eminent
importance: significant in numbers,
“lead in” to prime market, starts brand
preference patterning….
[Brown & Williamson (BAT), 1974]
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Market realities
“ The ability to attract new smokers and
develop them into a young adult
franchise is key to brand development.”
[Philip Morris, Five-Year Trends 19881992]
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Reaching young people
In the young smoker's mind, a cigarette falls
into the same category with wine, beer,
shaving, wearing a bra (or purposely not
wearing one), declaration of independence and
striving for self-identity.... Thus, an attempt to
reach young smokers, starters, should be
based, among others, on the following major
parameters:…
[Ted Bates agency, New York]
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A symbol of growing up
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Present the cigarette as one of the few
initiations into the adult world.
Present the cigarette as part of the illicit
pleasure category of products and activities.
In your ads create a situation taken from the
day-to-day life of the young smoker but in an
elegant manner have this situation touch on the
basic symbols of the growing-up, maturity
process.
To the best of your ability, (considering some
legal constraints), relate the cigarette to pot,
wine, beer, sex, etc.
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1. International marketing standards
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International marketing standards
…reasonable measures should be
taken to ensure that the promotion and
distribution of tobacco products is:
– directed at adult smokers and not at youth
– consistent with the principle of informed
adult choice
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International marketing standards
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Promotional content
Media usage restrictions
Promotion and event standards
Sampling
Sponsorship
Packaging
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Impossible to divide
teenagers from adults
Q.
Audrey Wise MP.
Can you give us any examples of things you would not
put in in case they attracted the 14 to 15 year olds?
You have rock, cult, bikes, cars and all sorts of things
[…] 14 and 15 year old males seem to be just as
interested as 18 year olds. How do your adverts differ?
A.
Paul Bainsfair, Chairman of a tobacco advertising
agency.
Perhaps if I say that it is common sense that there is
going to be an overlap. Some 15-year olds are going
to be more sophisticated than others. It is impossible
to say that something that appeals to an 18 year old
will not appeal to a 15 year old. If that is what you are
getting at, obviously you are right.
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Effect of partial bans
• ….comprehensive advertising bans can reduce
tobacco consumption… A limited set of
advertising bans will not reduce the total level of
advertising expenditure but will simply result in
substitution to the remaining non-banned media
(Saffer and Chaloupka, 2000)
• JUDGE IT BY WHAT IS PERMITTED RATHER
THAN WHAT IS BANNED…
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"We [.] believe that the multinationals' strategy is proactive and is
a way to improve their image. … the multinationals could be
trying to counter a number of proposals that the WHO has been
working on to curb the amount of cigarettes that are consumed
on an international level.
"One would think that the elimination of certain marketing
practices would effectively decrease advertising spending and
hence increase margins, however we believe the modest amount
the multinationals actually spend on these types of practices will
be redirected into other types of marketing promotions i.e., point
of sale activity.
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Purpose: avoid legislation
“… we refined the objective of a juvenile
initiative program as follows: “Maintain and
proactively protect our ability to advertise,
promote and market our products via a
juvenile initiative”.
[Cathy Leiber, Philip Morris International, 1995]
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2. Anti-smoking campaigns
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Only adults should smoke
‘They’re hypocritical, you know which teachers
smoke, we all know which teachers smoke yet
they say to us, “Don’t smoke, it’s disgusting”.
Stinking of fags. It’s just listening to their
opinion really. People can’t tell you not to
smoke if they smoke themselves.’
[Focus group – 14-15 year girls]
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Success = reduction in
legislation
‘“As we discussed, the ultimate means for
determining the success of this program will be:
1) A reduction in legislation introduced and
passed restricting or banning our sales and
marketing activities;
2) Passage of legislation favorable to the
industry;
3) greater support from business, parent, and
teacher groups.”
[Joshua Slavitt, Philip Morris, “Tobacco Industry
Youth Initiative,” 1991]
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Mobilise boring figures of
adult-imposed authority
“mobilise teachers, parents,
Government and public health bodies
in an integrated communications
campaign with effective messages”
[BAT, 2000]
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Parents, teachers, and public
health bodies?
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BAT in Malaysia
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Ukraine: innocence against smoking
“I don’t have
time to smoke”
(Kiev, Ukraine)
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3. Access initiatives
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Underage access
‘If we can frame proactive legislation or
other kinds of action on the Youth
Access issue…we will be protecting our
industry for decades to come.
[Philip Morris, 1995]
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Someone will get them for
you
‘No matter how old you are, someone will
get them for you.’
[13-14 year old girl, smokers, Birmingham]
‘Buyer’s Rights, you get two from twenty
and one from ten…’
[Year 9 boys, smokers. Southampton]
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Makes you want them more
‘That would make people want them more…it’s
the idea that you’re not supposed to have
them… “I’m not supposed to touch that, so I’m
going to go and get some”’
[13-14 year old girls, non-smokers, Newcastle]
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Russia: the perfect YSP ad?
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Easily defeated ID cards
About the CitizenCard
‘I want an ID card so I can say I’m a bit older so
I can go and buy fags, instead of having to wait
for ages for people to go into the shop and get
them for me.’
‘If you go into the back of your FHM [a ‘lad’
magazine], you can send away for an ID…for
£20 you can get the kit…makes about 3 IDs,
hologrammed, laminated, the lot! My mate at
school has got one and it looks really realistic.’
[13-14 year old boys, smokers, Southampton]
Action on Smoking and Health
Tobacco Industry
Youth Smoking Initiatives
Self-serving PR
1. Resist legislation and appear to be cooperating
2. Frame the ‘issue’ as a kids problem
3. Focus on adults helps sell to kids – play on
adult aspiration and rebellion
4. Call for more research – but ignore existing
research
5. Advocate things that don’t work – (but resist
things that do)
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Conclusion
 Tobacco industry should withdraw
its youth smoking initiatives
 Governments should avoid
involvement with the tobacco
industry’s youth smoking initiatives
 Public health should not fall into
youth prevention traps
Action on Smoking and Health