You're the target

Do you feel like you’ve got a target on your forehead? You should. Tobacco companies are in business to sell tobacco, and in order to do that, they need to keep people smoking. There’s just one problem—people keep dying instead. Which means that tobacco companies need to find new smokers to replace the ones who die. And there’s no mystery as to whom they are targeting. Tobacco insider memos prove that the tobacco industry has been targeting teens for decades.

“Today's teenager is tomorrow's potential regular customer… The smoking patterns of teen-agers are particularly important to Philip Morris…”
—1981, Vice president of research and development at Philip Morris (makers of Marlboro).

“They represent tomorrow's cigarette business… As this 14-24 age group matures, they will account for a key share of the total cigarette volume—for at least the next 25 years.”
—1974, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (makers of Camel)

“[C]omic strip type copy might get a much higher readership among younger people than any other type of copy.”
—1973, RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. marketing memo

“The base of our business is the high school student… It is the ‘in’ brand to smoke if you want to be one of the group.”
—1978, Lorillard memo (makers of Newport)

Read more tobacco company quotes.

Still up to their old tricks

Even though tobacco companies agreed, in 1998, to stop marketing to youth, they’re still up to their old tricks. Because not only have they continued to target young people, now they’re aggressively targeting women, minorities, and the gay, lesbian and transgender communities too.

Targeting young people is bad enough, but the tobacco companies really know YOU. They specifically aim their advertising at certain groups that you may fall under:

1. Young women and teen girls

Cigarette brands market smoking to young women and teen girls by trying to convince them that smoking makes them independent and socially appealing. Companies market two types of cigarettes to women: feminine brands (such as Camel No. 9) and dual sex brands (like Marlboro—not strictly feminine, but for “the independent, fun-loving woman!”)

2. African Americas

Mentholated cigarettes are heavily promoted in African American communities; 8 out of 10 African American youth smokers smoke Newport, a brand of mentholated cigarettes. African American magazines, such as Ebony and Jet, have more cigarette ads than People or Time.

3. American Indians/Alaska Natives

American Indians/Alaska Natives are often directly targeted through sponsorship of cultural events, such as powwows and rodeos. One cigarette brand, American Spirit™, depicts a Native American on the package, and Native American warriors in advertisements.

4. Hispanics and Latinos

Tobacco companies have contributed to schools, universities, and scholarship programs targeted to the Hispanic and Latino communities.

5. Lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgenders

The lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities smoke at rates 40% to almost 200% higher than the general population (see the fact sheet). Evidence suggests that since the 1980s, the tobacco industry has targeted specific brands to the LGBT community. In 1995 Project SCUM was a "Sub Culture Urban Marketing" scheme proposed by the makers of Camel, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco to sell cigarettes to members of the "alternative life style" areas of San Francisco, in particular the large number of gay people in the Castro neighborhood.

For more information on how the tobacco industry targets young people, visit the Tobacco Free Kids Web site.

Big tobacco strategies

For years, the tobacco industry used five major strategies to promote tobacco use: sponsorship, point-of-purchase and promotional advertising, Internet sales and price discounts and product placement in movies. In anticipation of the changes brought about by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FDA Bill) signed into law in 2009—including a ban on tobacco brand sponsorship of sporting or entertainment events, and a ban on using deceptive terms like “light” and “mild” to sell cigarettes, the industry has changed had to change some of their strategies, and has begun heavily promoting smokeless tobacco products as well. From 2006 to 2008, tobacco companies reduced their cigarette marketing expenditures from $12.5 billion to $9.9 billion, while doubling their smokeless tobacco advertising dollars from $258 million in 2005 to $547.9 million in 2008.

1. Sponsorships

Sponsorships were a big part of advertising, but as of June 22, 2010 the FDA Bill effectively banned cigarette or smokeless tobacco brand sponsorship of sporting, cultural, and entertainment events.

2. Point of purchase and promotional advertising

Most of the increase in tobacco companies' marketing and advertising spending has been in highly visible in-store advertising. Convenience stores are a major part of that effort. Why? Two reasons: In-store advertising works, and big tobacco knows that convenience stores are popular with teenagers. In fact, 75% of teens visit convenience stores once a week, (1) and tobacco companies know that teens who see retail ads are 50% more likely to try smoking.

Promotional advertising basically means giving away free stuff, and who doesn’t love free stuff?! Tobacco companies used to be able to use giveaways like bags, t-shirts, cell phone accessories, etc. to lure new smokers. But as of June 22, 2010, the FDA Bill prohibited tobacco companies from providing giveaways of branded non-tobacco products with the purchase of tobacco products, or providing free samples of tobacco products, and restricts smokeless tobacco giveaways to adults only facilities in restricted situations.

3. Internet sales and price discounts

The rapidly growing number of Web sites selling tobacco products makes it easier and cheaper for teens to buy cigarettes. A 2003 study showed that kids as young as 11 were successful more than 90% of the time in purchasing cigarettes over the Internet because little effort was made to verify the user’s age at the time of purchase or at the time of delivery.

Almost three quarters of the money spent on marketing cigarettes in 2005 ($9.8 billion) was spent on price discounts, because making cigarettes more affordable to kids increases the number of young people who smoke. These price discounts are usually for more expensive brands, which are more popular with youth smokers. See the facts.

4. Product placement in movies

But there’s also good news! As of July 2007, Disney became the first major Hollywood studio to ban depictions of smoking, declaring there would be NO SMOKING in its family-oriented, Disney-branded movies.

In 2010, a total of 54.7% of the 137 top-grossing movies had no tobacco incidents, compared with 33.3% of 147 in 2005. Among youth-rated movies (G, PG, or PG-13), 69.3% had no tobacco incidents in 2010 compared with 45.2% in 2005. Progress is being made!

For more information, go to the smoke free movies website

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