Smoking_Advertisement_in_Stores

Name Teacher English 255 June 29, 2010 Smoking Advertisements in Stores According to statistics from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, today more than 4,400 U.S. teenagers will start smoking per day; a number of these adolescents will be lured to cigarettes by advertisements and movies that feature sophisticated models and actors, suggesting that smoking is a glamorous, grown-up activity (Fine, Gold, and Land). When an industry purposely targets children and insists in selling their chemical-based product by falsely identifying their product as sweet candy, then I have a problem with the tactics that are being used. One has to acknowledge that the method the tobacco industry uses in advertising in stores is purely wrong, and the government should step in and start regulating these corner stores with fines. When I was in 7th grade, I remember how I used to walk to St. Anthony’s School in the early mornings of winter, and walk back home around 3pm. The only difference between my walks from school and to my house was the one stop I made every afternoon at a corner store located on Folsom Street and 25th Street. I used to stop there because I always purchased bubblegum in the shape of cigarettes. I kept buying the same thing because I used to pretend to be a grown up. The bubblegum was wrapped in white thin paper. When I placed this cigarette shape bubblegum to my lips, I could actually blow on it and white powder would come out from the other end just like a real cigarette, but without the chemicals. Above the candy racks, I could vividly see all the cigarette advertisements that in a way connected with me through this cigarette shape bubblegum. Back then I was to small and naïve to understand the concept of the tobacco industry, but now I understand the reasoning behind tobacco industries placing cigarette advertisements close to candy racks at local corner stores. They wanted me to think of cigarettes as another candy bar coming off the rack, but in this case, it was bubblegum in the shape of a cigarette. Susan Carney is a middle school counselor that for the past thirteen years has been working with kids from 6th and 7th grade, she is also a psychologist who has specialized in youth development and continues to work with various organizations in child safety issues. The tobacco industry knows that very few people begin smoking as adults; therefore, their best bets for these new customers are kids (Carney). Most of us understand the consequences of smoking and are aware of some of the end results if we continue to smoke cigarettes. Some cigarette smokers will develop lung cancer, others heart disease, and the ones who are lucky will obtain a larynx (voice box). Eventually, some smokers will get ill due to a heart attack or lung cancer, these particular customers are the ones who the tobacco industry will need to replace because they will soon stop buying their product. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention claims that cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable disease and death in the United States, resulting in approximately 438,000 deaths annually (Fine, Gold, and Land). So how can an industry replace such a huge number of dying smokers or in this case recruit new customers for the future' The tobacco industry decided to target the young by placing their advertisement near candy racks. I love Christmas and so do my kids, when we think of Christmas we visualize Santa Claus and all the great gifts. Christmas is a time of harmony, a time to be with friends and family. The children will fill the morning with laughter as they enjoy their new gifts brought to them by Santa Claus, a big guy dressed in red, with a white beard and a full-size belly. At least in a kid’s re-collection, Santa Claus is a person who can do no wrong, a person worth trusting, a person with a positive image. So what happens when these same kids see advertisements of Santa Claus smoking' Bafflement, confusion, or is it the basic principles of Dr. Ivan Pavlov’s studies, classical conditioning' Classical conditioning is a learning process that occurs through associations between an environmental stimulus and a naturally occurring stimulus (Van Wagner). This experiment was done with dogs and the sole purpose was to train the dogs to respond to a specific sound and associate it with food. Now the tobacco industries have used this tactic with children, and have conditioned many young people to associate cigarettes with candy, sex, and holidays. I know that nowadays smokers are getting a raw deal on many tax laws that concentrate specifically on cigarettes and tobacco products. To make matters worse, smokers are not allowed to freely enjoy a cigarette in every public area, now there are designated areas where smokers have to go and feel like a group of outcast citizens. So, the logical question from smokers is, why should we attack those places that still sell cigarettes to us' To answer that question I want to affirm my point of view, I’m not against smokers nor do I care whether you chose to smoke two packs of Newport or Marlboro cigarettes a day. But my point is that lying and deceiving kids by advertising above the racks of candy is purely wrong. I believe that adults have better judgment when it comes to decisions, and distinguishing when something is not right. Kids are more interested in going into a store and buying candy or looking around the sweet stuff, but they have no idea that while they look around, they are being conditioned to associate cigarettes with candy. So, why fine store owners who are trying to survive in a tough economy' And why penalize individuals who are trying to compete against other stores' Store owners should be allowed to place the advertisements that are provided to them by the tobacco industries. I agree that every business owner has the right to make their businesses flourish, but the point still remains that is the placement of the advertisements. Why not place these advertisements of their products outside the store, or by the windows' Just have store owners use common sense when deciding what’s appropriate, this has been an issue for many years and store owners will not change unless it hurts their pockets. At one point or other lawmakers will have to take a look at the 4,400 teenagers that will start smoking per day, and see how they can help reduce the 438,000 deaths that occur annually due to smoking (Fine, Gold, and Land). Lawmakers or new laws cannot prevent anyone from smoking, but they can enforce new laws to prevent dirty tactics from continuing to target kids around our communities. I understand that such laws will produce a burden towards industries who are trying to make an extra dollar, and who depend on such tactics to secure incoming revenue for the future. Laws that have been enacted to further the prevention of tobacco use by kids, have to be enforced by the appropriate authorities. Authorities such as the Food and Drug Administration, this might sound drastic, but it’s the truth. Society’s youth will continue to get lured in by these types of advertisement; one must take action to protect the innocent. Some steps have already been taken by some of our leaders, for example, on June 22, 2009, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Act which gives the U.S Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco. I believe in fighting back, and fight back where it really hurts, and that’s in their pockets. Make these laws hurt storeowners who are not willing to rethink their decorations that hang around candy racks and fine after fine will make them think twice if harsher penalties are applied. I wish that none of you will ever experience the death of someone close to you that is directly related to cigarettes or tobacco products; in addition, I hope that in the near future is not your son or daughter will not be targeted by these advertisements. I’m optimistic that after the readers analyze this essay, some will acknowledge the method the tobacco industry uses in advertising is purely wrong, and other readers will agree with the idea of having the government step in and start regulating these corner stores with fines. Works Cited "2 Ways to say Merry Christmas, Pleasant Smoking." Camel.com. Web. 2 Nov 2009. . Armour, BS. "Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report." Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and Productivity Losses—United States, 1997-2001 294.7 (2005): 7. Web. 2 Nov 2009. . Carney, Susan. "Tobacco Advertising and Teens." Marketing Strategies Cigarette Companies Use to Target Kids 9 Feb 2007: n. pag. Web. 2 Nov 2009. . Fine, Michael, Melanie Gold, and Stephanie Land. "University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine." Teens Half As Likely To Smoke If They Are Wise To Subliminal Messages In Cigarette Ads, Study Finds 9 Oct 2006: n. pag. Web. 2 Nov 2009. . "Lucky Strikes." 'Mad Men': Smoke, Smoke, Smoke That Cigarette. Web. 2 Nov 2009. . Van Wagner, Kendra. "Introduction to Classical Conditioning." Psychology n. pag. Web. 2 Nov 2009. .