TARGETED BY TOBACCO
THE TRUE STORY OF BIG TOBACCO AND KIDS
Sure, you’re supposed to be at least 18 years old to smoke, but that doesn’t stop tobacco marketing from reaching kids. They’ve used everything from cartoons, baseball cards, superhero movies, to dissolvable nicotine packaged to look and taste just like candy, all to get their brands into the lives of children. Sure, they will deny it. They put all sorts of effort into saying their products are only for adults. But in reality, their own documents show that they have been targeting young people for years and years.
THE REALITY
For over 100 years the tobacco industry’s marketing has reached kids. In their own documents, tobacco executives describe just how important teenagers are to their strategy. Here’s one quote from R.J. Reynolds, the makers of Camel cigarettes:
Evidence is now available to indicate that the 14-to-18 year old group is an increasing segment of the smoking population. RJ Reynolds Tobacco must soon establish a successful new brand in this market if our position in the industry is to be maintained over the long term.
- R.J. Reynolds Research Department March 15, 1976
Shortly after this quote the company did successfully establish their brand, Camel, amongst teens using a cartoon character known as Joe Camel. But decades before Joe Camel, the tobacco industry’s marketing was already reaching teens. Here’s a brief timeline.
EARLY 1900's - BASEBALL CARDS
Tobacco companies practically invented baseball cards. Crazy, right? They knew kids would want to collect cards of their favorite players to trade, show off, or keep for their collection. But in order to get those cards, you had to buy a pack of cigarettes. So, they marketed cigarettes to fathers with the promise of getting some baseball cards to give to their sons with each pack of smokes.
1960's - CARTOONS
Then, the industry started sponsoring cartoons. They’d even pay the producers of the cartoons to animate the characters smoking their brand of cigarette and talking about how great it was. Though children love cartoons, the tobacco companies tried to defend themselves by claiming these shows were for adult audiences.
1980's - 2000's - MOVIES
But they didn’t stop at TV. Tobacco companies stepped up to the big screen and started paying movie studios to feature their cigarettes in major films. Some of your favorite superhero movies were funded in part by tobacco money. Not only that, but they actually paid to have characters smoking on screen. When they weren’t allowed to pay to put their products in movies kids could see, they did some shady deals behind closed doors to make sure their brands still appeared in movies. One tobacco company planned to
concentrate [tobacco industry] resources on special movie placements where a star actually smokes our brands in a manner clearly visible to viewers and our presence in the movie is more apparent.
Still don’t believe it? This site has a ton of evidence about how the industry continues to put smoking in movies and other media. http://www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu
TODAY-CONVENIENCE STORES & NEW PRODUCTS
Tobacco companies are geniuses when it comes to finding new ways to market to kids, so you know they didn’t stop after paying to be in movies. Now they plaster ads all over gas stations and corner stores, with a lot of that marketing being only a few feet off the ground.
Plus, some of their new products are designed to look and taste just like candy.
Want to see for yourself? Take a quick survey to see if you can spot the differences.
THE EVIDENCE
TEENS ARE IMPORTANT
Here’s an internal tobacco industry document talking about teenagers being an important market for them.
Download Now
MEET THE FLINSTONES
Check out this letter from a tobacco company rep that attempts to defend their sponsorship of a cartoon.
Download Now
MOVIE DEALS
What iconic action movie star was paid to feature cigarettes in more than a few of his movies? Download the pdf to find out.
Download Now
GO SHOPPING
Turn off your computer, walk to the gas station or convenient store, and see for yourself. The ads and promos for tobacco products are everywhere!
LEARN MORE
Documents above were retrieved from the Legacy Tobacco Industry Documents Library at UCSF. Visit tobaccodocuments.org to search the massive archive of tobacco industry documents yourself.