Daily Doc: RJR, Jul 3, 1974: RJR on the psychological needs of children
Daily Doc: RJR on the psychological needs of children
Title: Selection
RJR, Jul 3, 1974
Bates #: 500574161-4170
July 13, 2000
Whatever the tobacco companies now claim, the history in their documents reveals the truth. These companies weren't just mildly interested in children, they had an all encompassing fascination with the pubescent psyche. Their marketing departments examined the psychology of youth in great detail with an eye towards finding out what causes children to enter into nicotine addiction in the first place, but even more importantly what causes them to select a first brand, knowing that the brand they select is the one they are likely to stay with for years to come.
This document shows how closely the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company dissected the psychological needs of children, understanding how desperately they need to gain confidence, bolster their self-image, cope with boredom, conform with peers, appear sexually precocious, cope with life's transitions, and be respected as a grown up...
What is a society to do when they find out, as we have, that corporations hawking addictive, deadly products have a microscope on the psychological needs of children in this manner?
CITATION
Title: Selection
Type of Document: Letter
Author: Tredennick DW Marketing Research Department
Recipient: Mr. F.H.Christopher, Jr.
Date: 19740703
Site: R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company document site
Page Count 10
Bates No. 500574161-4170
URL: To find this document on the Web, go to the RJR site at http://www.rjrtdocs.com/rjrtdocs/frames.html, click "Advanced Search" and in the box that appears, copy and paste in the following in: NUM 500574161*
[Image Available PDF Format]
Litigation Usage: Texas and Minnesota
Found by: Norbert Hirshhorn, M.D.
QUOTES
The purpose of this memorandum is to answer the question "What causes smokers to select their first brand of cigarette?"
...For legal reasons, we have been unable to directly survey smokers under 18 years of age (as will be shown most smokers begin smoking regularly and select a usual brand at or before the age of 18). Therefore...we have to hypothesize to a considerable extent as to what causes initial brand selection...
STARTING AGE
Over 50% of men smokers start smoking regularly before the age of 18 and virtually all start by the age of 24. Women tend to begin smoking at a slightly older age.
The instance of smoking among people 16-24 years of age is 40%.
Published sources are consistent in identifying one or more of the following as the essential reasons for smoking cigarettes, at least initially:
--Conformance
--Support, to gain confidence or security in stress situation (often social)
--Enjoyment, taste or other physiological benefits (after initial learning period)
--To show off
Often more than one of these factors enter into a young person's decision to smoke...In addition, two less prevalent reasons are to rebel against authority...or to satisfy a "habit" which is developed from occasional smoking.
(the following is a JPG image directly from the document itself:) [Image]
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