Young people and tobacco advertising
The UK charity Quit, that helps people to give up smoking, has reported that young people are three times as likely to start smoking if both their parents smoke, but, significantly, whether their parents approve or disapprove of smoking is also a factor.
Similarly, an Australian study found that young people are twice as likely to smoke if they have one or more parents who smoke.
Evidence such as this shows that smoking not only affects the health of the individual concerned, but has an effect on the habits of other family members, particularly the impressionable young.
Cancer Research UK points out that, as few people start smoking after the age of eighteen, children are actually a key target for the tobacco industry. Quit has pointed out that, not surprisingly, young people are most likely to smoke the brands that are heavily advertised.
The tobacco industry has long argued that cigarette advertising only encourages brand switching, and that it does not encourage people to take up smoking, but research funded by Cancer Research UK has shown that cigarette advertising does encourage young people to start smoking.
A UK study in 1996 revealed that the treasury received £108 million pounds in taxation from the illegal sale of cigarettes to children. In 1997 it was estimated that the UK tobacco industry made an annual profit of £35 million from teenage smokers.
In Western countries such as the UK, cigarette advertising has been mostly banned, although some forms still exist. This is causing the tobacco companies to target countries, such as Asian countries where the legislation is less severe towards cigarette advertising.
The global denormalization of smoking is a long haul.
Filed under: Tobacco industry, Tobacco advertising, Children, Young people
