Glamour puff. (9/461)

Australia has a total ban on tobacco advertising and promotion . . .but tobacco marketing goes on.  (+info)

Zebras in Russia! Where next? (10/461)

The zebra may seem an odd choice as a brand image for a new cigarette in Russia, but subtle tobacco marketing forces are, as always, at work.  (+info)

Authors' financial relationships with the food and beverage industry and their published positions on the fat substitute olestra. (11/461)

OBJECTIVES: This study examined the association between authors' published positions on the safety and efficacy in assisting with weight loss of the Procter & Gamble (P&G) fat substitute olestra and their financial relationships with the food and beverage industry. METHODS: Journal articles about olestra, and their authors, were classified as supportive, critical, or neutral with respect to its use. Authors not known to have industry affiliations were surveyed about their financial relationships. RESULTS: Supportive authors were significantly more likely than critical or neutral authors to have financial relationships with P&G (80% vs 11% and 21%, respectively; P <.0001). All authors disclosing an affiliation with P&G were supportive. CONCLUSIONS: Because authors' published opinions were associated with their financial relationships, obtaining noncommercial funding may be more essential to maintaining objectivity than disclosing personal financial interests.  (+info)

R.J. Reynolds' targeting of African Americans: 1988-2000. (12/461)

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to describe RJ Reynolds (RJR) Tobacco Company's strategy for targeting African Americans, as revealed in tobacco industry documents and magazine advertisements. METHODS: The authors searched industry documents to determine RJR's strategies and analyzed magazine advertising during 2 periods: the time of the launch of the company's Uptown cigarette (1989-1990) and a decade later (1999-2000). RESULTS: RJR's efforts to target the African American market segment existed before and after Uptown, and the company's strategy was largely implemented via other RJR brands. Advertisements featured mentholated cigarettes, fantasy/escape, expensive objects, and nightlife. CONCLUSIONS: To help all populations become tobacco-free, tobacco control practitioners must understand and counter tobacco industry strategies.  (+info)

How tobacco companies ensure prime placement of their advertising and products in stores: interviews with retailers about tobacco company incentive programmes. (13/461)

BACKGROUND: About 81% of cigarette manufacturers' marketing expenditures in the USA is spent to promote cigarette sales in stores. Relatively little is known about how these expenditures help the manufacturers achieve their marketing goals in stores. A better understanding of how tobacco companies influence the retail environment would help researchers and tobacco control activists to monitor industry presence in stores. OBJECTIVE: To describe the types of tobacco company incentive programmes offered to retailers, how these programmes impact the store environments, and possible visual indicators of retailer participation in incentive programmes. STUDY DESIGN: In-depth qualitative interviews with a convenience sample of 29 tobacco retailers were conducted in 2001. SETTING: USA. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The types and requirements of retailer incentive programmes provided by tobacco companies, and how participation in a programme alters their stores. RESULTS: The retailers provided insights into how tobacco companies convey promotional allowances and special offers to them and how these incentives shape the retail environment. Retailers noted that tobacco companies exert substantial control over their stores by requiring placement of products in the most visible locations, and of specific amounts and types of advertising in prime locations in the store. Retailers also described how tobacco companies reduce prices by offering them volume based discounts, "buy two, get one free" specials, and "buying down" the price of existing product. CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco companies are concentrating their marketing dollars at the point-of-sale to the extent that the store is their primary communication channel with customers. As a result, all shoppers regardless of age or smoking status are exposed to pro-smoking messages. Given the financial resources spent by tobacco companies in stores, this venue warrants closer scrutiny by researchers and tobacco control advocates.  (+info)

From adversary to target market: the ACT-UP boycott of Philip Morris. (14/461)

BACKGROUND: In 1990, the AIDS Coalition to Unleash Power (ACT-UP) sparked a year long boycott of Philip Morris's Marlboro cigarettes and Miller beer. The boycott protested the company's support of Senator Jesse Helms (R-North Carolina), a leading opponent of AIDS funding and civil rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people. ACT-UP demanded that Philip Morris sever its ties with Helms and acknowledge its responsibility to the LGBT community and to people with AIDS. OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of the boycott on the LGBT community, the tobacco industry, and the tobacco control movement; and to determine what lessons tobacco control advocates can extract from this case. DATA SOURCES: Internal tobacco industry documents and newspaper archives. METHODS: Search of tobacco industry documents websites using "boycott", "ACT-UP", "gay", and other terms. RESULTS: Philip Morris used the boycott to its own advantage. It exploited differences within the community and settled the boycott by pledging large donations to combat AIDS. Through corporate philanthropy, Philip Morris gained entree to the LGBT market without appearing gay friendly. Many LGBT organisations, thirsty for recognition and funding from mainstream corporations, welcomed Philip Morris's overtures without considering the health hazards of tobacco. CONCLUSIONS: Unless the goal of a boycott is to convince the tobacco industry to abandon tobacco altogether, such actions invite the industry to expand its marketing under the guise of philanthropy. Tobacco control advocates should be clear about goals and acceptable settlement terms before participating in a boycott of a tobacco company.  (+info)

Youth tobacco prevention mass media campaigns: past, present, and future directions. (15/461)

This paper focuses on countermarketing efforts aimed at curbing youth smoking. We review the literature on the effectiveness of tobacco countermarketing campaigns, characterise current state and national campaign approaches, present findings from qualitative approaches and laboratory experiments that explore a variety of messages (for example, health consequences, industry manipulation), and discuss newer, non-traditional approaches to countermarketing. In conclusion, we outline research needed to fill gaps in our existing knowledge and discuss future directions in tobacco countermarketing aimed at youth.  (+info)

The potential of the internet as a medium to encourage and discourage youth tobacco use. (16/461)

The internet is fast becoming a new battleground between tobacco control advocates and pro-tobacco forces, and this new media will certainly have a greater impact on tobacco use behaviour in the future. This paper reviews how the internet can encourage youth smoking by providing youth access to tobacco products and offering content that glamorises smoking lifestyle and culture, particularly in hundreds of websites and chat rooms. These sites feature pictures of celebrity smokers, provide information about smoking in movies, and provide smoking advice to teen smokers. In contrast, youth smoking is discouraged on online grassroots advocacy and countermarketing websites. Although these strategies show promise, more research is needed to evaluate their impact. Recommendations are made for future research to study pro-smoking internet content and ways to counteract it, as well as to monitor the online activities of the tobacco companies. Finally, some of the challenges in addressing tobacco related internet content are discussed.  (+info)