Teenage Smokers and Advertisement

Most smokers start in their teens and for that reason tobacco companies are determined

to get them hooked. Many smokers drop the habit each year by either quitting or dying (How

Tobacco Advertising Works, 2002). Tobacco companies rely on the constant inflow of new

smokers to maintain profits and that is why advertisements especially target the younger

generation. For every smoker that quits or dies they depend on new ones to take their place.

Young people are perspective customers for many types of products. Young people are

interested in practicing their part as consumers and they spend billions of dollars each year doing

so. For many companies young people are the single most important factor to maintain or

increase their sales and profits because new customers often become long-term customers (The

Role of the Tobacco Industry, 2008). A company that attracts young people to its particular

brand has a high chance that they will become loyal to their company and maintain their profit

for many years to come. This concept applies to tobacco companies as well. A CDC (Center for

Disease Control and Prevention) study showed that 80% of smokers start before the age of 18,

which is why tobacco companies try hardest to attract young people the same as any other

company would, by advertising. Even though Canada’s Tobacco Act (1997) bans advertising of

tobacco products, tobacco companies get most out of an exception to that law that allows them to

promote through publications that maintain an adult readership of at least 85percent.

Unfortunately, this exception does not protect youth from exposure to their deadly products.

Between November 2007 and December 2008 youth have been exposed to reappearing to...

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...hildren and teens

aware of cigarettes. They decide who their customers should be and tie in their products into

what they see and hear on TV, movies and magazines (Teens and Smoking, 2008). The

determination of tobacco companies trying to attract the younger generation is getting stronger

and therefore making it harder for parents and guardians to protect their children from such

exposure to negative advertising.

The links between advertisements and teen smoking are clear. False advertising, youth

geared advertising, and product placement are only a few of many strategies that tobacco

companies use to attract the younger generation. They do this to keep constant inflow of new

smokers and maintain profits. Temptation for teens and children are everywhere they look and

listen; they need to hear and see the truth about the consequences of smoking.