10.13 Encouraging young people not to smoke
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For decades, the tobacco manufacturing industry has publicly stated that it does not wish young people to start smoking. The health establishment has long regarded these claims with scepticism on the grounds that it is self evident that if a industry which kills half of its regular, persistent consumers wishes to stay in business, then it needs to find a steady stream of recruits. Despite industry protestations to the contrary, there is ample evidence that its promotional activities in Australia175 and internationally176 have in the past, and continue to, target new users[25] (see also Chapter 11). Initiatives adopted by the tobacco industry with the stated intention of reducing the appeal of its products to young people have been designed to forestall government intervention and to give the impression that the industry is cooperative and responsible. In the words of a BAT official in 1973, describing a voluntary agreement for the industry in Hong Kong to withdraw tobacco advertising during children's television viewing hours: '...this is one of the proposals that we shall initiate to show that we as an industry are doing something about discouraging young people to smoke. This of course is a phony way of showing sincerity as we all well know.'178[26]
As part of the industry strategy to embrace corporate responsibility, youth smoking prevention programs have been developed worldwide. These have typically taken the form of programs aimed at retailers, advertising aimed at young people and their parents, and sponsorship of 'life skills' educational programs.179 These activities have been widely criticised by tobacco control experts for their demonstrated ineffectiveness, as well as the benefits they may bring the tobacco industry, including:175, 179, 180
- the appearance of being proactive and responsible, while participating in activities which they recognise are unlikely to affect uptake of smoking among young people
- forestalling more effective tobacco control measures which will damage the industry's interests, such as advertising bans or taxation increases
- shifting responsibility for prevention from the industry and placing the onus on retailers, parents and social groups
- fostering partnerships with government and non-government health and education interests which may give the industry political clout as well as credibility
- strengthening communications with retailers and shoring up support for future lobbying activities
- making opponents look like extremists
- giving the industry an opportunity to communicate directly with young people
- reinforcing smoking as an 'adult choice' (hence enhancing its cache among teenagers)
- providing 'proof' if required in a legal setting that the industry has taken action to discourage youth smoking.
10.13.1 Youth access programs
Access programs address how young people obtain tobacco, and generally focus on
the retail environment. In Australia it is illegal in every state and territory for anyone aged younger than 18 to purchase tobacco products. Laws regarding sales to minors have long been a component of a comprehensive tobacco control program and their
role in Australian tobacco control policy remains important as a deterrent to
underage sales.181
However there is debate over how effective access laws are in reducing prevalence in young people, since it is well known that younger smokers obtain their cigarettes from a variety of sources, particularly friends and family.42 This means that although strictly policed laws might indeed reduce sales to minors, they do not stop young people from getting cigarettes via their social networks, and do not in themselves appear to influence prevalence of smoking in young people.182 The industry itself knows this. Investigation of tobacco industry documents in Australia and overseas has shown that the industry has co-opted youth access issues as low-risk opportunity for gaining important public relations benefits.175, 179, 183
Since the early 1980s, the Australian tobacco industry has actively supported access programs by providing information and signage to tobacco retailers.175 The three Australian companies currently co-sponsor a program called '18+—it's the law', which provides in-store materials and advice to retailers.[27] For the launch of the 2002 version of the program, the tobacco industry advertised in both the trade and mainstream press. In an environment in which discourse between the tobacco industry and the public is greatly curtailed, this advertising provided a rare opportunity for the industry to spruik its credentials as a socially responsible corporate citizen.
10.13.2 'Life skills' programs
Another component to its activities in youth smoking prevention is sponsorship of life skills education programs. These programs typically touch on licit and illicit drug use, and include themes such as personal responsibility, self determination, self esteem, peer influences and media influences. There is strong evidence that in the USA, the tobacco industry has actively supported programs known to be ineffective and that in doing so it has managed to keep at bay the introduction of other, more hard-hitting life skills programs.[28]184 A analysis of these programs has found them to be fundamentally deficient from a public health perspective.185 These programs have also provided the tobacco industry with leverage against the introduction of stronger tobacco control measures intended to protect young people.184, 186
Efforts by the Australian tobacco industry to distribute material in schools failed during the 1980s.187, 188 In the late 1990s PMA funded the development of a program for Australian teachers to help schoolchildren 'say no' to smoking, illicit drugs, drinking and bullying. PMA wished to conceal its association with the program, 'I've got the power,' due to fears that if the connection were exposed, the program would meet with hostility.175 Their fears proved well founded and the program has not gained acceptance in Australia.189 However despite criticism, PMA has had involvement with funding educational materials about substance abuse intended for young Indigenous people, in collaboration with the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group and the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association Incorporated.190
The World Health Organization has recommended against the use of tobacco industry-endorsed youth smoking prevention programs, in recognition that they are intended to serve industry purposes rather than reduce the uptake of smoking.186
10.13.3 Anti-smoking advertising
In the USA and other countries tobacco companies have launched extensive television and magazine advertising campaigns with the stated intention of discouraging smoking among young people.179 These programs have proliferated, PMI taking its offensive to more than 70 countries in 2001.179 In the USA, the volume of tobacco-sponsored anti-smoking advertising has equalled or exceeded that of health interests.191, 192
In 1998, Philip Morris commenced the 'Think. Don't Smoke' campaign in the USA. This was soon followed by another campaign by US-based company, Lorillard, with the slogan 'Tobacco is whacko if you're a teen'.192 The common message of these advertisements is that smoking is an adult choice and that young people don't need to smoke to fit in socially. The Philip Morris advertisements do not explain exactly why young people should not smoke, instead repeating the theme that you do not have smoke to 'be cool.'192, 193 Philip Morris has also produced advertisements aimed at parents ('Talk. They'll Listen').
Several studies from the USA show that industry funded programs have not been effective192-196 and may even have fostered a more positive attitude towards the tobacco companies.192, 196 A large study conducted over a four-year period found that tobacco industry campaigns neither reduced smoking nor intention to smoke among the target audience, and that advertisements advising parents to talk to their children about smoking might have influenced teenagers in their senior high school years to smoke.194 None of these findings would surprise the tobacco companies, which do not intend their campaigns to thwart profitability or undermine industry operations.179, 184
[25]Experimentation with smoking overwhelmingly occurs during the teenage years. Data from the 2007 National Drug Strategy Household Survey shows that the mean age for initiation of smoking in Australia is 15.8 years.177
[26]See Knight and Chapman178 for detailed discussion of tobacco industry activities in Hong Kong. This excerpt from minutes of a meeting between representatives of tobacco manufacturers in Hong Kong may be viewed at: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/owq24e00/pdf;jsessionid=07C0248832774571CB38B8ED892AB35A
[27]See: http://www.bata.com.au/OneWeb/sites/BAT_53RF5W.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO52ANZV?opendocument&SID=&DTC=&TMP=1
[28] Such as programs which expose industry tactics, deal graphically with health effects and denormalise smoking. See Chapter 5 .
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