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How Tobacco Advertising Influences Young People. At the age of fourteen, I had my first puff of smoke. Even before that I knew a lot of cigarette brands due to advertising. Since then I started smoking and when I went to cafeterias and clubs the people who were promoting cigarettes would offer me a new brand to try and gave me free packs of cigarettes and a lighter with their brand. They didn’t mind how old I was, they just wanted to give them away and promote their product. But except this kind of advertisement, I had seen lots of tobacco advertisements on billboards which made me believe that everything is ok if I smoke.
This is a false impression that tobacco advertisements picture to teenagers. Tobacco advertisements influence teenagers by glamorizing smoking. The World Health Organization blamed the advertisers for attracting young people, by representing cigarettes with being glamorous, energetic and attractive (BBC News 1). Except that, is how big the billboards are (see fig. 1 and fig. 2). Fig. 1. Photograph of a billboard advertising Peter Stuyvesant cigarettes Fig. 2. Billboard, featuring a man leaning against a boat and smoking, with the caption “Slow Down.
Pleasure Up. ” Even teenagers can see these big advertisements and they imitate what they see from different media which influences them into smoking. Although tobacco advertisers say that their advertisements are aimed for adults, yet this is not true because teenagers imitate those images . The glamorization of tobacco, the positive impression which teenagers get from tobacco advertising and the effects of advertisement are the main reasons why tobacco advertising attracting teenagers should be banned.
Banning tobacco advertisements at places where teenagers are able to see them, means ban at all public places which leads to violation of companies’ rights. Young people go everywhere and since the advertisements are put everywhere the advertisers wont be able to advertise tobacco anymore. This means that the advertisers might lose their jobs. But there will be no violation of companies rights if they advertise their product in a different way. The cigarette expenses’ were replaced by advertising cigarettes with another way without profits or loss of the advertisers jobs.
This has been tested in a number of European Union countries, which have banned tobacco advertising (Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship 2). They will still be able to advertise their product but only to adults. A way for the advertisers to do that, is to make a magazine advertising all the cigarette brands, in a way of attracting smokers. And this magazine be purchased only by adults over the age of twenty five years old and the salesmen should always ask for an identity. Another way to advertise cigarettes at adult smokers, is to offer them free packs of cigarettes at cafes and clubs.
But also ask for an identity before giving them the free pack. The first main reason why tobacco advertising attracting teenagers should be forbidden is that the advertisers glamorize smoking. They use billboards, bus stops, the movies and kiosks (see fig. 3) to advertise cigarettes. Fig. 3. A new stand in Athens with a tent with a Davidoff advertisement. They present the Davidoff cigarettes with a sexy, successful, rich and smart man. Also they have put the slogan “the more you know” which gives the impression that smoking Davidoff will make you know more things or become smarter.
They have glamorized their product in such a way for teenagers to believe that if they smoke Davidoff they will be successful, rich and smart. The advertisements create the image of smoking as cool, acceptable and popular among independent, active and fun-loving people. The advertisements at billboards and bus stops are presented in the same way. The bad thing with the bus stops advertisements is that they are placed not even a meter from the ground, where even a baby can see and touch them.
But in the movies there is a big deference, because there are actors and actresses which are successful and well known and the glamorization effectiveness is bigger than in any other advertisement. The second reason why tobacco advertising attracting teenagers should be forbidden is the positive impression which teenagers get from tobacco advertising. When teenagers see a tobacco advertisement showing smokers who are pictured with lots of friends, they feel they want to be cool or successful socially. This is how the advertisements play into the natural insecurities of young people.
Also when the teenagers see the Virginia Slims advertisements they get the impression that smoking will make them beautiful and thinner. But this is not true, because it destroys the beauty. The tobacco companies use this confusion that many young people think (KQED). The advertisements connect smoking with romantic relationships. Because many people want to feel emotionally secure and physically attractive advertisements create a false impression between smoking and finding the soul-mate. Another way to advertise their product is to put healthy, successful and thin role models to act in such a way to attract teens.
A recent report from the National Cancer Institute strongly suggests that tobacco advertising and the depiction of cigarette smoking in movies can encourage teenagers to start smoking (Hayes 1). Also Hausa film Industry stars glamorize the smoking of cigarettes and the rate of this glamorization is very big. Young people imitate the actors and actresses, who are passing a fake message to young people, that smoking can bring success and popularity. Although it is an unreal message and young people should be aware of it because there are a lot of dangers if they believe it (Triumph Weekend 1).
The advertisers try to convince teenagers that smoking is a mature adult activity creating them the feeling that if they smoke they will be as much mature as an adult. But nothing from the feelings they create is true because smoking can’t make people smarter, thinner, attracting, beautiful even more mature. The third reason why tobacco advertising attracting teenagers should be forbidden is the effect which advertisements have on young people. Young people imitate what they see from different media and children are influenced into smoking from tobacco advertising.
Although the companies say that advertising is aimed for adults yet they know that younger teenagers imitate the older images of cigarettes which are shown (Donnellan 8). The teenagers who own a tobacco promotional item and could name a brand of cigarettes were more than twice as likely to become smokers (Benier 1). This is a fact that the tendency which teenagers have to imitate the advertisements of cigarettes leads to the bad habit of smoking. The more exposed teenagers are to advertising the most likely are to become smokers. And smoking leads to the bad effects of tobacco use.
The boy or girl you like will go away if you smell cigarette smoke. But this is nothing in comparison to the effects of smoking on every organ of your body. The tobacco smoke harms the health of the person who smokes (Hazard 1). Concluding, cigarette advertisements targeting young people should be banned to protect the teenagers from this unhealthy activity. The call by the World Health organization for a ban on advertising of smoking was published in May, the day before the World No tobacco day. This is a part of a 2008 effort to prevent tobacco companies from making advertisements attracting young people to smoke.
Because the more tobacco advertisements young people see, the most they are likely to smoke (Chan 1). Works Cited “Advertising and Children’s Use of Tobacco”. National Institute of Media and Family. 18 Nov. 2004. 16 March 2009 ;http://www. mediafamily. org/facts/facts_tobacco. shtml;. Bronwyn, Lamay. ” Busting The Tobacco Ads”. KQCD Education. 2001. 26 May 2009 ;http://uw. kqed. org/edresources/plan. ;. “Call To Ban All Tobacco Adverts”. BBC News 31 May 2008. 24 Apr. 2009 ;http://www. newsvote. bbc. co. uk/;. Chan, Margaret. “Who Calls for Banning all Tobacco Advertising, Promotion. ” Nation’s Health 38. 6(Aug. 008): 21. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Amer. Coll. of Gr. Libraries, Athens, Gr. 9 ?? rill 2009 <http://web. ebscohost. com>. Donnellan, Craig, ed. “Children and Smoking”. Smoking and your Health. Vol. 86. Ser. 362. 2. Cambridge: Independence, 2004. Hayes, Susan. “Smoke Screen”. NewsBank Popular Periodicals Jan. 2009: 16 Hazard, Andrea. “It Stinks To Smoke”. NewsBank Popular Periodicals Nov. 2008:32 “Hausa Film Stars Glamorize Smoking Of Cigarettes”. Triumph Weekend 17 March 2007. “Industry Arguments”. Tobacco Advertising, Promotion and Sponsorship. Nov. 2008 8 June 2009. <http://www. tobaccofreecenter. org>.