Tobacco.org

The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use: Executive Summary (PDF) 

The influence of the media and their role in product marketing represent one of the key developments of modern society. Effective advertising and promotion through media channels have created entire categories of human product and service needs beyond basic survival, which, in turn, have fueled the economic growth of communication media that include newspapers, magazines, radio, and television. Today, these media have evolved to become part of a global virtual society linked by channels such as the Internet, text messaging, and interactive gaming. As mass communications have bridged societies around the world, they have also magnified the impact of media on global public health. Over 80% of the more than 1 billion smokers worldwide live in developing countries, and the impact of globalization has led to an increase of more than 250% in cigarette exports from the United States alone in the decade preceding 2002.1,11 Moreover, smoking prevalence in the developing world is rising as prevalence among developed nations continues to decline, with the United Nations projecting a 1.7% net global annual increase between 1998 and 2010. If current trends continue, more than one-half billion of the world’s current inhabitants are predicted to lose their lives to tobacco use,12,13 underscoring the urgency of examining the media’s role in global tobacco marketing.

At the same time, the media have an equally powerful role in infl uencing individuals and policymakers and have made critical contributions to the cause of tobacco control. Media channels hold the power to frame conceptual models, infl uence the evolution of these models in the public’s perceptions, and ultimately guide these perceptions toward the implementation of policy.14 Tobacco control interventions have been inherently intertwined with the media, ranging from the antitobacco public service announcements broadcast on television under the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC’s) Fairness Doctrine in the late 1960s15,16 to the advertising restrictions of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement and the advertising restrictions contained in the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.17 Annual adult per capita cigarette consumption in the United States has declined from its peak level of 4,345 cigarettes in 1963 to a preliminary estimate of 1,654 in 2006,18,19 a process that started with the media publicity surrounding the 1964 Surgeon General’s report and continues through today’s media advocacy efforts on behalf of tobacco control.

Despite these successes, tobacco use still accounts for nearly one-third of cancer deaths worldwide. As a result of growing international tobacco use, WHO predicts that deaths caused by tobacco will increase to 6.4 million per year by 2015, representing 10% of all deaths worldwide.10,20 These trends, combined with the interrelationships between tobacco and media, mean that it is critical to understand how exposure to media influences tobacco use and to explore ways to effectively leverage the media to improve the overall state of public health.

This Executive Summary provides a framework for understanding the relationship between tobacco and the media, methodological issues in researching media- related issues in tobacco, and an overview and summary of the specific areas addressed in the monograph. Subsequent sections present the conclusions of individual chapters, followed by the major conclusions of the volume.

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Monograph 19: The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use 

The National Cancer Institute presents this 19th monograph in the Tobacco Control Monograph Series, The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use. Monograph 19 provides a critical, scientific review and synthesis of the current evidence regarding the power of the media, both to encourage and to discourage tobacco use. It is the most current and comprehensive summary of the scientific literature on media communication in tobacco promotion and tobacco control. Research included in the review comes from the disciplines of marketing, psychology, communication, statistics, epidemiology, and public health. All are vital to understanding how exposure to the media influences tobacco use.

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Philip Morris Money 

In Virginia, fresh-faced, environmentally minded schoolchildren gather biological samples and test water quality in rivers and waterways, part of the Izaak Walton League's Save Our Streams initiative. In Chicago, amid Tai Chi classes and body massages, families with young children enjoy performance art and teenagers flock to an all-night "rave," all part of the Museum of Contemporary Art's Summer Solstice weekend. In Minnesota hundreds of children with HIV or AIDS come together each year at Camp Heartland, where they can "escape the isolation and misunderstanding they so often face because of this illness." And all of these kids can thank the caring people at Philip Morris.

It might raise eyebrows that children and youth engage in otherwise worthwhile activities while carrying brochures and leaflets bearing the Philip Morris logo, but these and scores of other programs--ranging from battered women's shelters to disaster relief programs to scholarships for African-American students at black colleges--are important parts of an aggressive public relations campaign by the world's largest maker of cigarettes. During 1999 Philip Morris spent more than $60 million on things like hunger relief, domestic violence programs, and support of the fine arts, including some of the nation's leading museums and dance companies. Though the company has used its tobacco profits to support charitable and educational works for decades, what's new now is that its $60-million corporate giving program is suddenly being dwarfed by a $100-million-a-year image-rebuilding campaign launched last fall, which spotlights the company's goodwill efforts. Leading the way are Philip Morris-sponsored television commercials touting the firm's good deeds, under the slogan: "Working to make a difference. The people of Philip Morris." In the ads, actors play ordinary Americans engaged in volunteer teaching and assisting victims of floods. . . .

They've lavishly funded political allies, ranging from conservative think tanks like the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation, the Washington Legal Foundation, and the Progress & Freedom Foundation to liberal groups like the American Civil Liberties Union. They've sponsored sports events, from airy Virginia Slims tennis tournaments to gritty NASCAR races. . . .

"They're buying silence," says Douglas. "For years, the health community, in its effort to combat tobacco, has sought the buy-in of many affected communities and has had great difficulty enlisting their support." Citing Philip Morris contributions over the years to groups like the NAACP, the Urban League, the National Organization for Women, the National Council of La Raza, and many others, Douglas says, "Many of them were either silent or provided testimony to Congress opposing tobacco-control legislation."

Further, Philip Morris's charitable giving is skewed significantly toward groups that represent parts of the population specifically targeted by cigarette marketers, especially women and minorities. . . .

In 1999, for instance, Philip Morris provided major support to the Dance Theater of Harlem and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater as well as to the United Negro College Fund, the American Indian College Fund, and the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund. . . .

For decades the company has provided substantial support to leading institutions like New York's Whitney Museum of American Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. . . .

Over the years, the company has funneled millions of dollars to icons of the New York cultural establishment, including the Lincoln Center--which in the 1980s handed out cigarettes in bags of favors to patrons--the Joffrey Ballet, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the American Ballet Theater, and the Brooklyn Museum of Art, among others. . . .

That's not to say that there's no controversy over the company's donations. Case in point: Philip Morris's support for battered women's shelters, lately one of its highest-profile campaigns. Together with the National Network to End Domestic Violence, Philip Morris created a program called Doors of Hope. . . .

That worries Rita Smith, executive director of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, another major player in the movement. Last year the coalition's board of directors voted not to participate in Philip Morris's domestic violence program. . . .

Tom Metzger, spokesman for the National AIDS Fund, uses that argument to defend his organization's partnership with Philip Morris in a program called Positive Helpings, which provides nourishing food to people with AIDS. Citing the fact that Philip Morris's Kraft subsidiary produces foods, Metzger says, "Nothing's more benign than Jell-O. When you look at any multinational, you will find critics of something they produce." . . .

And despite the long odds, it's not impossible that Philip Morris's campaign could succeed in restoring a modicum of acceptance for the company--or at least help it survive until the industry can secure a stronger market position in Russia, China, and the developing countries.

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• VIDEO: Congressional Chronicle 

House * Senate 2009-06-09 To view video in the Flash Player simply click on a segment or a member's name. The sections on the timeline highlighted in yellow do not yet have video available for viewing

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JOHNSON: Is smokeless tobacco really safer?  

mokeless tobacco products.

But can't smokeless tobacco kill you just as dead as cigarettes?

Well, yeah, they concede, but smokeless tobacco is less likely to be fatal. And smokers can wean themselves off cigarettes by switching to other products such as snuff and chewing tobacco.

Brad Rodu, an oncology professor at the University of Louisville, argued passionately in these pages that smokeless tobacco provides a nicotine fix without causing smoking-related diseases. "Unlike cigarettes, smokeless doesn't cause lung cancer, heart disease or emphysema," he wrote. "The health risks from smokeless are only about 1 to 2 percent those of smoking. Statistically, lifelong smokeless users have about the same risk of dying from that habit as automobile users have of dying in a car wreck."

Further, smokeless tobacco does not produce smoke, hence it eliminates the dangers of secondhand smoke.

Don't reach for that pouch of chew just yet.

Smokeless tobacco contains at least three known carcinogenic agents: N-nitrosamines, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and radioactive polonium 210. It increases the threat of various oral cancers. It also has been associated with esophageal, pancreatic, prostate and kidney cancer, possibly even heart disease, says Dr. John Spangler of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine. . . .

Neither is Wake Forest's Spangler, who directs tobacco intervention programs at the medical school. "Those who argue in favor of smokeless tobacco as a means to quit smoking -- ”an 'alternative' to cigarettes, if you will ” -- ignore the fact that there is not a shred of scientific evidence showing, in a randomized, controlled clinical trial setting, that smokeless is effective in helping patients quit smoking," Spangler says.

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House debate begins on tobacco and other taxes  

In the House Finance Committee, Rep. Van Braxton, a Kinston Democrat, pushed an amendment that stripped new cigarette and other tobacco taxes from the bill. That amendment passed 22-7 but the tax package is not yet final.

Debate on the tax measure and a related budget bill is expected to continue throughout today

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Washington Watch: Burr, Hagan continue tobacco fight against odds 

North Carolina's U.S. senators -- Republican Richard Burr and Democrat Kay Hagan -- find themselves rowing against the tide of tobacco regulation this week, with few other colleagues willing to man the oars.

The two were among only 11 "no" votes on a key procedural motion that allowed debate on a sweeping tobacco regulation bill to go forward. There were 84 "yes" votes.

That measure, HR 1256: Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, is expected to get a final nod from the Senate this week. It would allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the packaging, marketing and other aspects of tobacco products.

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Capitol Briefing - Today on the Hill 

The Senate convenes at 10:00 a.m. ET to resume consideration of H.R. 1256, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

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Capitol Briefing - Today on the Hill 

The Senate convenes at 2:00 p.m. ET and will proceed to cloture votes on H.R.1256, the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

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LETTER: Support tobacco act to regulate products 

As an advocate for the American Heart Association, I want to thank Sen. Claire McCaskill for co-sponsoring the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

Incredibly, our nation's most preventable cause of death is unregulated . . .

Big Tobacco spends $423 million a year in Missouri to promote such dangerous products to adults and teenagers, jeopardizing public health. I want to encourage Congress to follow Senator McCaskill's lead and support the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.

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Tobacco policies likely to tighten  

Sweeping changes in how the government controls tobacco are likely to be approved by the Senate this week, despite strong opposition from tobacco interests and skepticism about whether the law will prompt smokers to kick the habit.

The bill, passed overwhelmingly by the House of Representatives in April and due for a Senate vote as early as Tuesday, would give the Food and Drug Administration broad new authority over tobacco.

"It's a massive move in public policy," said Andrew Taylor, a political science professor at North Carolina State University.

The bill would permit the FDA to limit the amount of nicotine in a product, bar advertising and marketing aimed at children and prevent companies from making unsubstantiated claims about "reduced risk" products.

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• Graphics smoke out the habit  

According to the Department of Health commissioned Survey of Lifestyles, Attitude and Nutrition (Slán), rates of smoking among the Irish populace have declined over the period 1998-2007 from 33 per cent to 29 per cent.

However, it is estimated that close to 7,000 people die each year in Ireland from smoking-related illnesses, and tobacco has been identified by the WHO as the leading cause of death and disability in the world.

Introducing an effective tobacco control strategy, including the use of graphic pictorial images on cigarette boxes, is seen as a crucial step in reducing tobacco-related deaths.

In May 2005, the European Commission bolstered the existing EU Tobacco products Directive of 2002 by recommending that member state governments adopt 14 graphic pictorial health warnings from a library of 42 colour photographs and other illustrations for inclusion on cigarette cartons.

According to the HSE, pre-testing of the EU library has been carried out and the images for use on the Irish market have been selected. Proposals have already been submitted to Government to amend the existing tobacco legislation, and one of these amendments will allow the Minister for Health to introduce combined text and photo warnings on tobacco products. It is anticipated that this will be enacted before the Dáil summer recess.

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Increase taxes on cigarettes - minister 

The finance ministry has been asked to increase taxes on cigarettes in the next financial year. Health state minister Dr. Richard Nduhuura said increasing taxes on tobacco was the most effective way to control smoking.

Nduhuura was speaking at the opening of a workshop on smoking at the Grand Imperial Hotel in Kampala recently.

He said high taxes would reduce the number of smokers and deaths that accrue because of smoking. Tobacco is among the leading sources of revenue for the Government. In the 2005/2006 financial year, the Government increased taxes on cigarette from sh19,000 ($10.63) to sh21,000 ($11.75) per mille ( 1,000 cigarettes).

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• Pupils smoking rate alarming - Survey  

A survey conducted by the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has indicated that 50 out of 1000 pupils surveyed smoke cigarette every day, a Principal Health Research Officer of GHS, Mrs Edith Wellington, has said.

Mrs Wellington said though the numbers might not be that huge the rate at which pupils were taking to smoking was alarming and drastic measures were needed to address the problem.

In an address to mark the post World No Tobacco Day in Accra last Saturday, Mrs Wellington said the measures were needed because children who smoked at their early stages stood the risk of many harmful effects of the smoke and were likely to get addicted at an adult age.

The event was organised by Coalition of Non-governmental Organisations in Tobacco Control (CNTC)

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• Cigarette vending machines should be banned, doctors say 

Cigarette vending machines should be banned and manufacturers forced to use 'plain packaging', as the British Medical Association urge drastic moves to prevent children smoking.

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