Young Adults
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A young woman shares the truth behind cigarette addiction. Click on the image to read her story.
The tobacco companies cannot legally market directly to kids, so what's the next best age group to target their promotional pitches? Young adults, of course.
To the tobacco industry, this demographic is a perfect target. A large proportion of young adults (18 to 25-year olds) are away from home for the first time, seeking independence and autonomy, and most importantly, they are legal adults, acknowledged by society as being able to make their own decisions. To the tobacco companies, this means that there is no reason why young adults cannot smoke cigarettes. Young adults are the prime targets for recruitment. And in recent years, the tobacco industry's special attention has worked: young adults have the highest smoking rate at 40 percent.
Learn Fast Ways to Tell the Tobacco Companies to "Butt Out!"
The tobacco companies spend more than $15 billion on marketing and advertising. Philip Morris (Altria) even uses a promotional tactic called "buzz" marketing or "trend influence" marketing, coined in the 1990s, to hook new smokers. Cigarette companies tailor advertising to appeal to young adults by placing advertising in pop-culture magazines, music concerts, and bars and night clubs; developing and offering trendy products; and giving away free goods, such as lighters, snow boards, and birthday coupons. Worse yet, cigarette companies get young adults to tout their promotional products at bars, clubs, and on college campuses, offering the newbies clothes, trips, or sporting goods in return.
Cigarette companies do their homework. They have spent millions of dollars testing campaign messages and conducting psychological studies on young adults to tailor their cigarette advertising to ensure they get the most bang for their buck (i.e., hook the most new smokers as possible).
Cigarette companies know that people in this age group are highly influenced by their peers. So if an attractive guy or girl offers you a free lighter in return for your email and cell phone number, the campaign has to be cool by association, right?
Wrong! Unless you want to track how the industry targets young adults, keep your private contact information private!
Big Tobacco also buys influence and credibility by its commitment to college Greeks and athletes by sponsoring fraternity dances, paying for sports stadiums and uniforms, and contributing to sorority fundraisers. What does the tobacco industry seek to gain? More exposure and a "good corporate citizen" image. If the football players and frat boys' jerseys have a Marlboro (Altria) insignia on it, the company has to be healthy by association, right?
Wrong! Don't let tobacco companies dupe you into serving as a billboard for the number one killer in the US and internationally.
Peri C. (middle) and Victoria H. (right), 6th graders in Wisconsin, stand together with Wisconsin Governor Doyle after he signed the Wisconsin smokefree workplaces bill into law (May 2009). Peri, an asthmatic and youth advocate, has gone to public hearings, testified, and made legislative visits concerning tobacco.
Student advocates from the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) submitted a petition signed by 3,300 students in support of smokefree bars.
American Spirit
Think these so-called 'natural' cigarettes are less deadly? Think again.
Don't be fooled by American Spirit's natural spin! You've probably seen how Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company markets its American Spirit cigarettes as a 100% additive-free, natural and organic product. But all tobacco is addictive and a killer, even without pesticides or preservatives. Your body won't miss those preservatives with all the nicotine and 3,000 cancer-causing chemicals still there in each "natural" cigarette.
American Spirit builds its image as an independent, alternative tobacco company-but did you know that it is owned by R.J. Reynolds, the second largest tobacco company in the U.S.? Not so independent anymore, are they?
This is just one more way that tobacco companies try to lure us into smoking. Some things never change.
"Discover the additive-free alternative death"
Check out this ad and site spoofing American Spirit's alternative image.
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| Young Adult Marks the Spot |
| Read what these formerly secret tobacco industry documents have to say for yourself. Young Adult Smoker Lifestyle and Attitude Segments |
| Smokefree News |
| Grekin, E.R.; Ayna, D., "Argileh use among college students in the United States: an emerging trend," Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs 69(3): 472-475, May 2008. This survey of college students regarding their use of hookahs found that, "More than 15% of the sample reported having used argileh [hookah] at least once in their lifetime, exceeding the percentage of students who had tried stimulants, barbiturates, cocaine, Ecstasy, heroin, or psychedelics. Arab ethnicity and cigarette smoking were the strongest predictors of argileh use; however, a substantial percentage of non-Arabs and nonsmokers also had tried argileh." The study also discussed the health implications of hookah smoking. Green, M.P.; McCausland, K.L.; Xiao, H.; Duke, J.C.; Vallone, D.M.; Healton, C.G., "A closer look at smoking among young adults: where tobacco control should focus its attention," American Journal of Public Health [Epub ahead of print], June 28, 2007. This study compared smoking rates among young adults enrolled in college and those not enrolled and found that, "Current smoking prevalence among US young adults aged 1824 years who are not enrolled in college or who do not have a college degree was 30%. This was more than twice the current smoking prevalence among college-educated young adults (14%). Noncollege-educated young adults were more likely than were college-educated young adults to start smoking at a younger age and were less likely to have made a quit attempt, although no differences were found in their intentions to quit. Higher rates of smoking in the noncollege-educated population were also evident in the slightly older age group." Early Use Of Nicotine Could Increase Susceptibility For Life-long Addiction Nicotine exposure at a young age may alter the "hard-wiring" of the brain that occurs during adolescence and young-adulthood, contributing to future susceptibility for addiction, according to a University of Pittsburgh study being presented today at Neuroscience 2006, the 36th Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience being held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. The research team, led by Jay W. Pettegrew, M.D., professor of psychiatry, used magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging (MRSI) to evaluate the effects of acute nicotine administration on nerve cell membranes -- the functional communication centers of the brain. According to their findings, nicotine induced molecular and metabolic changes in the brain, which resulted in the breakdown of the nerve cell membranes. These changes were especially observed in males.
This study concluded that both actively smoking and being exposed to secondhand smoke play a role in the development of glucose intolerance (a precursor of diabetes) in young adults. Coupons Attractive to Young Smokers Research Summary Coupons offered by cigarette companies are especially effective at reaching young smokers, the New York Times reported March 7. Researchers from the Center for Behavioral Research in Cancer, based in Australia, examined data from the 2002 California Tobacco Survey and tobacco-industry documents. They concluded that young adults, women, African-Americans, heavy smokers, and menthol smokers were the most likely to redeem tobacco coupons. The industry is especially interested in reaching young smokers because they are seen as potentially being long-term customers, researchers noted. Companies can use the coupons to offset state-mandated tobacco taxes or subsidize smoking for low-income buyers, the study said. The study appears in the March 2006 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. White, V.M., et al. (2006) Cigarette Promotional Offers: Who Takes Advantage? American Journal of Preventive Medicine 30(3), 225-231. Against Tobacco Targets Colleges R.J. Reynolds Halts Promotion After BacklashPromo Magazine, 2005-12-15 R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. has decided to halt a promotion that couples cigarettes with heavy drinking. The promotion targets young adults and has come under attack from three state attorneys general, as well as public advocacy groups. |
Houston, T.K.; Person, S.D.; Pletcher, M.J.; Liu, K.; Iribarren, C.; Kiefe, C.I., "