Jump to full article: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) (au), 2009-10-09
Author: News Online's Paul Sutherland
Intro: There are concerns tobacco companies are exploiting the internet by using social networking sites such as Facebook and Myspace to sell more cigarettes in clever marketing ploys.
University of Sydney PHD student Becky Freeman says "fan groups" for tobacco companies have been set up on such sites to promote products, encouraging a practice that many are trying to curtail.
She told a conference in Darwin this week the tobacco industry is abusing the internet because the web does not have the same advertising controls as print and television.
"I think what we need to have in Australia is required disclosure from tobacco companies on where they are spending their advertising money," she said.
As these practices come to light, a study by Deakin University has found the economy would be $1 billion better off if the rate of smoking was cut by one third.
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