Advertising

Cigarette advertising

Tobacco advertising can be seen in the United States as early as the year the Constitution was ratified, as local tobacco companies placed advertisiements in local newspapers. However, these advertisements were primarily for tobacco and snuff, with cigarette advertising not becoming prominent until the late 1800s upon the invention of two important technologies. First, color lithography was invented in the late 1870s which revolutionized advertising for cigarette companies who could now strengthen and promote their identities to consumers. Now companies could make collectible cigarette cards with every cigarette pack and these cards became very popular. They often pictured people such as movie stars, athletes, and even Native American chiefs. However, these collectible cards were eventually discontinued to save paper during World War II. The second invention was a cigarette-making machine developed in the 1880s that vastly increased the productivity of cigarette companies, who went from making approximately 40,000 hand-rolled cigarettes daily to around 4 million.[42]

The decades in the 20th century prior to World War II consisted primarily of full page, color magazine and newspaper advertisements. Many companies created slogans for their specific cigarettes and also gained endorsements from famous men and women. Some advertisements even contained children or doctors in their efforts to sway new customers to their specific brand. Much of these advertisements sought to make smoking appear fashionable and modern to men and women. Also, since the health effects of smoking weren't entirely proven at this time, the only real opposing argument to smoking was made on moral grounds. However, there were still a substantial amount of doctors and scientists who believed there was a health risk associated with smoking cigarettes.[43] During World War II, cigarettes were included in American soldier's C-rations since many tobacco companies sent the soldiers cigarettes for free. Cigarette sales reached an all time high at this point, as cigarette companies were not only able to get soldiers addicted to nicotine, but specific brands also found a new loyal group of customers as soldiers who smoked their cigarettes returned from the war.[44]

After World War II, cigarette companies advertised frequently on television programs. To combat this move by the cigarette companies, the Federal Communications Commission required television stations to air anti-smoking advertisements at no cost to the organizations providing such advertisements.In 1970, Congress took their anti-smoking initiative one step further and passed the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act, banning the advertising of cigarettes on television and radio starting on January 2, 1971.After the television ban, most cigarette advertising took place in magazines, newspapers, and on billboards. However, in 1999 all cigarette billboard advertisements were replaced with anti-smoking messages, with some of these anti-smoking messages playing parodies of cigarette companies advertising figures and slogans. Since 1984, cigarette companies have also been forced to place Surgeon's General warnings on all cigarette packs and advertisements because of the passing of the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act.[45] Restrictions on cigarette companies became even tighter in 2010 with the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The act prohibits tobacco companies from sponsoring sports, music, and other cultural events and also prevents the display of their logos or products on T-shirts, hats, or other apparel.[46] The constitutionality of both this act and the Food and Drug Administration's new graphic cigarette warning labels are being questioned under cigarette companies' first amendment rights.[47]

In many parts of the world tobacco advertising and sponsorship has been outlawed. The ban on tobacco advertising and sponsorship in the EU in 2005 has prompted Formula One Management to look for races in areas that allow the tobacco sponsored teams to display their livery. As of 2007, only the Scuderia Ferrari retains tobacco sponsorship, continuing their relationship with Marlboro until 2011. In the United States, bolder advertising restrictions took effect on June 22, 2010.

In some jurisdictions, such as the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Alberta, the retail store display of cigarettes is completely prohibited if persons under the legal age of consumption have access to the premises.[48] In Ontario, Manitoba, Newfoundland and Labrador, The ACT, and Quebec, Canada, the display of tobacco is prohibited for everyone, regardless of age, as of 2010. This includes non-cigarette products such as cigars and blunt wraps.


Purchase restrictions

Beginning on April 1, 1998, the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to people under the state purchase age has been prohibited by law in all 50 states of the United States. The age is 19 in Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey, Utah, and Nassau, Suffolk, and Onondaga counties in New York.[51][52] The intended effect of this is to prevent older high school students from purchasing cigarettes for their younger peers. Legislation was pending as of 2004 in some other states. In Massachusetts,[53] parents and guardians are allowed to give cigarettes to minors, but sales to minors are prohibited.

Similar laws exist in many other countries. In Canada, most of the provinces require smokers to be 19 years of age to purchase cigarettes (except for Quebec and the prairie provinces, where the age is 18). However, the minimum age only concerns the purchase of tobacco, not use. Alberta, however, does have a law which prohibits the possession or use of tobacco products by all persons under 18, punishable by a $100 fine. Australia, New Zealand, Poland and Pakistan have a nationwide ban on the selling of all tobacco products to people under the age of 18.
Tabak-Trafik in Vienna. Since 1 January 2007, all cigarette machines in Austria must attempt to verify a customer's age by requiring the insertion of a debit card or mobile phone verification.

Since 1 October 2007, it has been illegal for retailers to sell tobacco in all forms to people under the age of 18 in three of the UK's four constituent countries (England, Wales and Scotland) (rising from 16). It is also illegal to sell lighters, rolling papers and all other tobacco-associated items to people under 18. It is not illegal for people under 18 to buy or smoke tobacco, just as it was not previously for people under 16; it is only illegal for the said retailer to sell the item. The age increase from 16 to 18 came into force in Northern Ireland on 1 September 2008. In the Republic of Ireland, bans on the sale of the smaller ten-packs and confectionery that resembles tobacco products (candy cigarettes) came into force on May 31, 2007 in a bid to cut underaged smoking. The UK Department of Health plans to follow suit with the ten-pack ban.

Most countries in the world have a legal vending age of 18. Some exceptions are Italy, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Portugal, the Netherlands and Gibraltar, where the age is 16. Since January 1, 2007, all cigarette machines in public places in Germany must attempt to verify a customer's age by requiring the insertion of a debit card. Turkey, which has one of the highest percentage of smokers in its population,[54] has a legal age of 18. Japan is one of the highest tobacco-consuming nations, and requires purchasers to be 20 years of age (suffrage in Japan is 20 years old).[55] Since July 2008, Japan has enforced this age limit at cigarette vending machines through use of the taspo smart card. In other countries, such as Egypt, it is legal to use and purchase tobacco products regardless of age.[citation needed] Germany raised the purchase age from 16 to 18 on the 1 September 2007.

Some police departments in the United States occasionally send an underaged teenager into a store where cigarettes are sold, and have the teen attempt to purchase cigarettes, with their own or no ID. If the vendor then completes the sale, the store is issued a fine.[56] Similar enforcement practices are regularly performed by Trading Standards Officers in the UK and the Gardaí Siochana, the police force of the Republic of Ireland.[57]

Consumption

As of 2002, approximately 5.5 trillion cigarettes are produced globally each year and are smoked by over 1.1 billion people or greater than one-seventh of the world population. While smoking rates have leveled off or declined in developed nations, they continue to rise in developing parts of the world. Smoking rates in the United States have dropped by half from 1965 to 2006 falling from 42% to 20.8% of adults.[3] In the developing world, tobacco consumption is rising by 3.4% per year.[4]
Smoking prevalence by gender (2000)     Percent smoking
Region     Men     Women
Africa     29%     4%
United States     35%     22%
Eastern Mediterranean     35%     4%
Europe     46%     26%
Southeast Asia     44%     4%
Western Pacific     60%     8%

Source: World Health Organization estimates, 2000
Leading consumers of cigarettes (1998)[58] Country     Population
(millions)     Cigarettes consumed
(billions)     Cigarettes consumed
(per capita)
China     1248     1643     1320
USA     270     451     1670
Japan     126     328     2600
Russia     146     258     1760
Indonesia     200     215     1070


Smoking prevalence in the U.S. (2006)[59]
R    State      %      R    State      %        R     State      %       R     State      %
1     KY     28.6     14     SC     22.3      27     KS     20.0     40     AZ     18.1
2     WV    25.7     15     NV     22.2     28     GA     20.0     41     VT     18.0
3     OK     25.7     16     NC     22.1     29     ND     19.6     42     DC     17.9
4     MS     25.1     17     DE     21.7     30     VA     19.3     43     CO     17.9
5     AK     24.2     18     WY     21.6    31     RI     19.3      44     MA     17.8
6      IN     24.1     19     PA     21.5      32     MT     19.0     45     MD     17.8
7     AR     23.7     20     IA     21.5      33     NH     18.7     46     HI     17.5
8     LA     23.4     21     FL     21.0      34     NE     18.6     47     WA     17.1
9     MO    23.3     22     ME     20.9     35     OR     18.5     48     CT     17.0
10   AL     23.3     23     WI     20.8      36     NY     18.3     49     ID     16.8
11   TN     22.6     24     IL     20.5       37     MN     18.3     50     CA     14.9
12   OH     22.5     25     SD     20.4     38     TX     18.1      51     UT     9.8
13    MI     22.4    26     NM     20.2    39     NJ     18.1           


Health issues

Nicotine, the primary psychoactive chemical in cigarettes, is addictive.[60] Cigarette use by pregnant women has also been shown to cause birth defects (which include mental and physical disability).[7] Some of the mineral apatite in Florida used to produce phosphate for U.S. tobacco crops contains uranium, radium, lead 210 and polonium 210 and radon.[61][62] The radioactive smoke from tobacco fertilized this way is deposited in lungs and releases radiation even if a smoker quits the habit. The combination of carcinogenic tar and radiation in a sensitive organ such as lungs increases the risk of cancer. Each cigarette that is smoked is estimated to shorten life by 11 minutes.

Health risks caused by secondhand cigarette smokeCigarette smoke is also known as environmental tobacco smoke or passive smoke.[65][66] It is a mixture of two forms of smoke that come from burning tobacco. This includes: side stream smoke—smoke that comes from the end of a lighted cigarette, pipe, or cigar—and mainstream smoke—smoke that is exhaled by a smoker.[65] This mixture contains more than 7,000 chemicals, including hundreds that are toxic and about 70 that are cancer-causing.[67] The side stream smoke contains higher concentrations of carcinogens than the mainstream smoke, and it contains smaller particles relative to mainstream smoke, which absorb into the body’s cells more easily.[65] Prolonged exposure to second-hand smoke causes lung cancer in nonsmokers and has also been associated with heart disease in adults. Sudden infant death syndrome, ear infections, respiratory infections, and asthma attacks can occur in children that are exposed to secondhand smoke.[65][66][67] Scientific evidence shows that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.[65][66]Warning messages in packagesSome countries require cigarette packs to contain warnings about health. The United States was the first,[68] later followed by other countries including Canada, most of Europe, Australia,[69] India, Hong Kong and Singapore. In December 2000, Canada became the first country to enforce graphic warning on cigarette packaging.[69] And at end of December 2010 the new regulation from Ottawa is to increase size of tobacco warning to cover 3/4 of cigarette package.[70] As of November 2010, 39 countries have adopted similar legislation.[68]On February 2011, Canadian government made a regulation that enforced cigarettes packages to contain 12 new images to cover 75 percent of the outside panel of cigarette packages and 8 new health messages in the inside panel with full color.[71][dead link]April 2011: The world's toughest laws on packages came from Australia. New Zealand, Canada and United Kingdom have considered similar policy. All of the packages should be on a bland olive green covered 75 percent of the front of a pack and all of the back with graphic health warnings. The only things that differentiate one brand and another are just the brand and product name in a standard color, standard position and standard font size and style.[72] Concerning the regulation Philip Morris International is threatening to sue the Australian government, if the regulation still be applied due to Australia should protect foreign investors from discriminatory treatment. Australia is the first country to introduce plain, brand-free packaging for cigarettes.[73]Smoking bansMany governments impose restrictions on smoking tobacco, especially in public areas. The primary justification has been the negative health effects of second-hand smoke.[74] Laws vary by country and locality. See: Smoking age, Smoking bans in private vehiclesCigarette buttThe common name for the remains of a cigarette after smoking is a cigarette butt. The butt typically comprises about 30 percent of the cigarette's original length. It consists of a tissue tube which holds a filter and some remains of tobacco mixed with ash. Cigarette butts are the most numerically frequent litter in the world.[75] Cigarette butts accumulate outside of buildings, on parking lots, and streets where they can be transported through storm drains to streams, rivers, and beaches.Cigarette litterCigarette filters are made from cellulose acetate and are biodegradable,[77][78] though depending on environmental conditions they can be resistant to degradation. Accordingly, the duration of the degradation process is cited as taking as little as one month to three years[77] to as long as 10 to 15 years.[78] One campaign group has suggested they are never fully biodegraded.[79]This variance in rate and resistance to biodegradation in many conditions is a factor in littering[80] and environmental damage.[81] It is estimated that 4.5 trillion cigarette butts become litter every year.[78] In the 2006 International Coastal Cleanup, cigarettes and cigarette butts constituted 24.7 percent of the total collected pieces of garbage, over twice as many as any other category.[82]Cigarette butts contain the chemicals filtered from cigarettes and can leach into waterways and water supplies.[83] The toxicity of used cigarette butts depends on the brand design because cigarette companies incorporate varying degrees of chemicals in their tobacco blends. After a cigarette is smoked, the butt is capable of retaining some of the chemicals, and parts of them are carcinogenic.[75] The results of one study indicate that the chemicals released into freshwater environments from cigarette butts are lethal to daphnia at concentrations of 0.125 cigarette butts per liter (or one cigarette butt per 8 liter).[76]Cellulose acetate and carbon particles breathed in from cigarette filters is suspected of causing lung damage.[84]Smoldering cigarette butts have also been blamed for triggering fires from residential fires[85] to major wildfires and bushfires which have caused major property damage and also death[86][87][88] as well as disruption to services by triggering alarms and warning systems.[89]Many governments have sanctioned stiff penalties for littering of cigarette butts; the U.S. state of Washington imposes a penalty of $1025.[90]Cigarette butts are one of the most commonly found litters on the street. Most high-rise littering also relates to cigarette butts.[91] There are several options that may help reduce the environmental impact that cigarette butts cause. This includes developing biodegradable filters, increasing fines and penalties for littering butts, implementing monetary deposits on filters, increasing the availability of butt receptacles, and expanding public education. It may even be possible to ban the sale of filtered cigarettes altogether on the basis of their adverse environmental impact.[92]Electronic cigarettesElectronic cigarettes are nicotine delivery devices that closely resemble cigarettes but produce no smoke. The health effects of electronic cigarettes have been, and continue to be, heavily studied.[93][94][95] These devices are illegal in some countries, such as Singapore. In other countries, these devices require government approval before these products can be sold, such as Canada and Denmark.