Beating_Big_Tobacco

Beating Big Tobacco Beating Big Tobacco As part of the 1998 multi-state tobacco settlement, the nations largest cigarette companies promised not to “take any action directly or indirectly to target youth in advertising, promotion, or marketing of tobacco products.” They claim to have no interest in the youth market and are working diligently to curb teen smoking. But, no matter what they say, the youth segment of the market is vital to their continuing success and they will continue to find new ways to target this market indirectly. Studies show that almost 90 percent of smokers first tried cigarettes before age 18. This is also the time that brand loyalties are formed. A document that was made public during the tobacco trials sums up the reliance tobacco companies have on youth smokers: “Today’s teenager is tomorrow’s potential regular customer, and the overwhelming majority of smokers first begin to smoke while in their teens…it is during the teenage years that the initial brand choice is made.” The companies now claim to no longer target an underage market. Instead they have moved their focus to college aged youth. Tobacco is no longer advertised on television or billboards. Yet, the advertising youth, tobacco, market, campaign, smokers, percent, marketing, target, success, smoking, effective, companies, cigarette, ads, advertising, way, underage, teen, same, need, during, big, anti-smoking, while, very, targeting, take, studies, store, smoke, show, several, settlement, say, put, public, proven, prevent, popular, people, own, now, new, multi-state, longer, largest, industry, greatly, government, giveaways