Fact Sheet: Tobacco Industry Point of Purchase Advertising

Tobacco Use Stats:

• Tobacco use begins young: 88% of adults who have ever smoked tried their first cigarette by the age of 18; the average age at which smokers try their first cigarette is 14 ½



• Nationally, more than 48,500,000 are currently smokers



• In New York State:
  6.7% of middle school children smoke (Middle school males=7.2%, Middle school females=5.6%);
  21.3% of high school students smoke (High school males=21%, high school females=21.6%);
  21.6% of people over 18 smoke (Males=24.%, females=18.8%)



• Tobacco Companies spend more than $11.22 billion in marketing their products each year

Health Effects of Tobacco Use:

• 440,000 people die from tobacco-related illnesses every year, making it the leading cause of preventable death in the United States



• Scientific studies have concluded that cigarette smoking can cause chronic lung disease, coronary heart disease, and stroke, in addition to cancer of the lungs, larynx, esophagus, mouth, and bladder



• Each year, between 38,000 and 67,500 people die as a result of others’ smoking. This includes effects of second hand smoke and of smoking during pregnancy

The Impact of Tobacco Ads in Periodicals

Tobacco retail advertising reaches kids...

• In a British Medical Journal study, 95% of 15-16 year olds surveyed were aware of tobacco advertising. All 15-16 year olds surveyed were aware of some method of point of purchase marketing



• 75% of teenagers shop in convenience stores at least once per week



• Kids are more than twice as likely as adults to recall tobacco advertising. A national telephone survey revealed that while only 23% of adults recalled seeing tobacco advertising the past 2 weeks, 55% of kids recalled seeing the advertising

...and it greatly increases their likelihood of smoking

• “The conclusion that there is a causal relationship between tobacco marketing and smoking seems unassailable.”



• Teens are significantly more likely to smoke due to advertising than they are due to peer pressure



• A 2002 study showed that exposure to convenience store tobacco advertising causes teens to perceive significantly easier access to cigarettes, and to express weakened support for tobacco control policies. These findings suggest that convenience store tobacco advertising distorts adolescent’s perceptions about the availability, use, and popularity of tobacco products



• The majority (70%) of 7th graders are at least moderately receptive to tobacco marketing materials. And children more receptive to marketing are also more susceptible to start smoking



• Teens are significantly more likely than adults to be influenced by advertising and promotion in convenience stores (73% to 47%). In-store displays (51%), banner/window signs (47%), and in-store promotional signage (44%) are the convenience store advertising/promotional methods most likely to influence teen purchases. These methods only have 36%, 33%, and 32% likelihoods (respectively) of influencing adult purchases



• An estimated 1/3 of adolescent experimentation with smoking can be directly attributed to tobacco advertising and promotional activities. Perhaps this is because tobacco advertising is so attractive to kids: nonsmoking children that have a favorite cigarette ad are two times more likely to begin smoking in the future than those who do not

Yet tobacco companies keep at it…

• The 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) was established to reduce children’s exposure to tobacco advertising, and yet...



• In the year following the MSA coming into effect, there was no significant drop in retail store tobacco ads placed less than 3.5 feet from the ground, there was an increase in both prevalence and extent of exterior store signage, and there was a significant increase in point-of-purchase promotional activity

…because they know that brand loyalty starts young

• Among adolescents, the advertisements most likely to be seen, to be liked, and to be viewed as making smoking more appealing, are for the brands most commonly smoked by adolescents, Camel and Marlboro. Over 40% of adolescents feel that Marlboro ads make smoking more appealing, and nearly half feel that Camel ads make smoking more appealing



• Each day, more than 4,000 kids try smoking for the first time, and another 2,000 kids become regular daily smokers. 85% of these youth smokers prefer Marlboro, Camel, and Newport – three of the most heavily advertised brands

Tobacco Industry Quotes

• “Marlboro’s phenomenal growth rate in the past has been attributable in large part to our high market penetration among young smokers…15 to 19 years old…my own data, which includes younger teenagers, shows even higher Marlboro market penetration among 15-17-year-olds.” Philip Morris report, 1975



• "[T]he base of our business is the high school student.” Lorillard Tobacco Company Executive, 1978

References