Tobacco marketing below the line

New promotions and how to counter them

Action on Smoking and Health Australia www.ashaust.org.au

Outline
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Progress so far Tobacco industry targets: then & now! Why they do it? $$$$$$$ Where? Films, TV, mags, shops, events Counter measures Goal: comprehensive advertising ban

1. Progress: a long history of incremental

decline (pc tobacco consumption)
Tobacco products sold in Australia, kgs, per adult 15 years and over

3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0

New health warnings Excise increase

Landmark report of the US Supreme Court End of broadcasting of tobacco advertisements Start of Quit Campaigns Federal Court ruling on passive smoking

1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0

64 66 68 70 72 74 76 78 80 82 8 19 4 86 19 88 19 90 19 92 19 94 19 96 19 98 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19 19

Source: Customs and excise receipts, ABS

2. Tobacco targets

Children - a significant market opportunity Young women Politicians

Sources: industry documents, secondary school surveys

3. Where is it happening? Examples (we know about)

Youth events fashion shows, pop concerts Films 50% increase in teen movies Internet cigar companies using the net: see
http://tobacco.health.usyd.edu.au/site/supersite/resources/docs/ industry_advertising.htm

Magazines accidental, incidental or only lifestyle Clubs and bars nicotine classrooms Point of sale in all supermarkets, shops, petrol Exemptions Grand Prix, Indy until 2006

Very glam and very guilty

Promotions like this at fashion events were found to be illegal and eventually led to Philip Morris and Wavesnet being fined for breaking NSW tobacco advertising laws.

Smoking in films
by celebrities on and off screen - on the rise; - a predictor of youth smoking.

Slick silver containers promoting Stuyvesant, handed out to the teenage audience at a Sydney pop concert event.

Heavy metal

The brand manufacturers say they had nothing to do with it.

Marketing Pearl in the Oyster

Full-tilt product placement with brand clearly displayed in Oyster fashion magazine April/May 2003

Successful, independent and she smokes

Glamorous actress Naomi Watts in theJune/July 2003 Australian magazine edition of Harpers Bazaar. The same week it was reported that lung cancer amongst women is expected to overtake breast cancer as the No.1 cancer killer of women in future.

Chilling bravado
At point of sale Alpine cigarettes displayed in shops on mock fridge to highlight cool image. Withdrawn in NSW but not Qld.

Formula One Fiasco

Promotion of tobacco is still allowed in F1 Grand Prix races in many countries - including Australia, where exemptions have been granted until 2006. Ferraris Michael Schumacher has been dubbed the new Marlboro Man.

Counter measures
1. Expose conduct and seek support in media campaigns
2. Monitor breaches, seek fines, legal actions 3. Close loopholes in legislative reviews (Federal TAP Act, state/territory laws)

Goals
1. Strategy must include a complete ban on all forms of tobacco promotion and advertising.
2. Advertising bans more effective as part of a fully funded, comprehensive tobacco control action plan.

More information
www.ashaust.org.au

Research papers:
Stacy Carter (Sydney Uni)
Worshipping at the Alpine Altar in Tobacco Control at http://tc.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/10/4/391

Jane Martin and Todd Harper (Quit Vic)

2002, Trojan horses: how the tobacco industry infiltrates the smokefree debate in Australia, Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, vol. 26, no. 6, pp. 572-573.