Tobacco.org

• Tobacco wars hit the dance floor 

Domestic laws restrict them from TV advertising, so companies resort to other tactics. What many try to do is court chains, mom-and-pop stores and other businesses associated with young people ¡ª a huge potential market ¡ª with strategies that civic groups say are unethical and at times illegal.? ¡°Everyone wants a flagship store for their product,¡± says an industry source speaking on condition of anonymity. ¡°So what companies do is target certain areas of a city where they can aggressively market their product.¡± Just as clothing manufacturers establish their flagship stores at strategic locations in wealthy areas such as Gangnam in southern Seoul, tobacco companies target convenience stores near colleges and clubs where young people congregate. . . .

Another approach favored by the tobacco companies is to sponsor parties or clubs by paying them directly or indirectly to let them take their products inside. ¡°When I want to hold a party, I contact a tobacco or liquor company. They pick up all the expenses for organizing the party in exchange for advertising their products,¡± says Hong, 35 . . .

Lee Jung-hoon, a KT&G official, admitted that the company sponsored clubs in the past, but said that the practice stopped two years ago. ¡°That is a thing of the past,¡± he says. Kim Young-min, an official at British American Tobacco, denies that his company sponsors club parties.

Jump to full article »