6 Tobacco Control 2001;10:6–8 Tob Control: first published as 10.1136/tc.10.1.6d on 1 March 2001. Downloaded from NEWS ANALYSIS

movies and music), and by the proac- All articles written by David Simp- tive presence of the brand at a popu- son unless otherwise attributed. lar music festival at Vieilles- Ideas and items for News Analysis Charrures in Brittany, which is seen should be sent to David Simpson at by young people as the “Breton the address given on the inside Woodstock”. In addition, fearing the front cover. coming of stricter legislation, the “OCB Urban Wear Designed by you” competition was launched towards the end of last year, also using the France : rolling same sort of communications. OCB’s competitor RIZLA +, while using less round the curbs provocative ads, is also using a similar The French Tobacco Act (the “loi media campaign strategy. Evin”) has led to the price of It is striking how the RYO papers manufactured cigarettes doubling industry seems to follow the strategy since 1992, and to sales decreasing of the cigarette manufacturers. These 14.5% from 1991 to 1997. But during campaigns keep on showing positive the same period, sales of roll-your- images of smokers who are “cool”, own tobacco (RYO) have doubled, “hip” and “glamorous”, and such because of their lower level of messages unfortunately have a strong taxation. This phenomenon mainly impact in a country where advertise- concerns young people: almost 24% ments for manufactured cigarettes OCB roll-your-own cigarette papers advertise have been absent from the media for of 12 to 24 year olds say they smoke with Samy Naceri, star of “Taxi”,with the http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/ roll ups, against 17.7% for the overall slogan “OCB et Samy: ça roule!!!”, making almost a decade. play of the verb “rouler”—to roll— in an population aged 12 to 75. These facts expression that loosely translates as “things are KARINA ODDOUX may explain why RYO papers have going smoothly”. Comité français d’éducation pour la santé, recently developed strong eVorts to Vanves cedex, France gain new customers. [email protected] Since the total ad ban came into PASCAL MELIHAN-CHEININ force in 1993, traditional ways of Ligue Nationale Contre le Cancer, advertising tobacco products have Paris, France disappeared, including most indirect ads, the latter mainly disappearing as a result of 37 punitive sentences Oman: ships that

handed out over the last 10 years on October 1, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. (details of French case law can be pass in the night found at www.tabac-info.net). Fresh from its narrow escape after Conversely, RYO cigarette papers, encountering unforecast publicity which are not covered by the law, have storms in Pakistan (see Tobacco become more and more visible. In Control 2000;9:361), BAT’s John 1998, OCB (Odet Cascadec Bolloré), Player Gold Leaf ocean going sailing recently sold by the French company boat slipped silently into a private Bolloré Technologies to the US marina in Oman on 8 November, and Republic Technologies, initiated a slipped just as silently out again three large media campaign targeting days later. No hyped-up mass media teenagers, using outdoor and printed publicity, no parties, or discos. Not a ads mainly in magazines. On its web free sample in sight, even for “young site (www.ocb.tm.com), OCB uses This OCB roll-your-own cigarette paper adults”. A local agent arranged for advertisement shows the singer Zasie, who is images of famous actors (Samy especially popular with young girls in France. some media personnel to meet the Naceri, star of Taxi), singers (Zazie, boat and its intrepid crew, but a especially popular with young girls), subsequent search of newspapers and and models (Pauline) as their values, breaking the law, and sharing other media indicated that the boat ambassadors. The brand uses sexy, the joyful moments in life. had, as it were, sunk without trace. glamorous, and fashionable imagery, In addition to these marketing Health oYcials in the Gulf along with values such as humour, strategies, the intention to target sultanate believe that the distinctly impertinence, multicultural openness, young people is confirmed by the low key nature of the visit was the provocation, refusing conventional media planning (magazines on result of strong pressure on municipal

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authorities and the Ministry of to obviously responsible and well Tob Control: first published as 10.1136/tc.10.1.6d on 1 March 2001. Downloaded from Commerce not to grant the floating meaning institutions such as Good cigarette ad any promotional permits, Housekeeping? Perhaps a start would as well as oYcial representations to be for a major education plan to tell government owned newspapers. Nev- them how the industry has been plan- ertheless, the incident has renewed ning its rehabilitation for quite some their conviction of the need for time. While health advocates were still comprehensive legislation, to ensure fooling themselves that after what that next time, tobacco companies do came out in the Minnesota docu- not even bother trying it on. ments, not even tobacco executives would ever again pretend to be anything other than scheming liars Brazil: tough nut and fixers of bogus research, they were busy panning the next chapter. cracked In 1991, a Tobacco Institute Brazil is the world’s fifth largest coun- discussion paper on the industry’s try, with a vibrant economy and a vast, youth programme set out a “fairly impressionable, fashion conscious simple” strategy: youth population. What better place 1. Heavily promote industry opposi- to sell cigarettes? “There’s an awful lot tion to youth smoking. of starters in Brazil” might be the 2. Align industry with broader, more modern parody of the old song about sophisticated view of the coVee, this one possibly sung by The Philip Morris advertisement in the problem—that is, parental inability November 2000 edition of “Good oYcials of British American Tobac- Housekeeping”. to oVset peer pressure. co’s (BAT) local subsidiary Souza 3. Work with and through credible Cruz, which dominates the market. rightly billed as “a groundbreaking child welfare professionals and For many years it has been laughing story about women and lung cancer educators to tackle the “problem”. all the way to the bank with the spoils that you’re unlikely to read else- 4. Bait anti-tobacco forces to criticise from such strikingly promotion where”. It began: “In December industry eVorts. friendly brands as Hollywood. 1952, Good Housekeeping stopped The Good Housekeeping ad neatly So it comes as all the more of a sur- accepting ads for cigarettes and exemplifies 1 and 2, and may possibly prise, and a tonic to weary tobacco tobacco products. At the time, lead to 3. By writing about it this way, control advocates everywhere, that research was just beginning to emerge Tobacco Control may, as the industry last November, the Senate passed a about the link between smoking and sees it, be falling headlong into tobacco advertising ban, covering ads lung cancer, and the editors believed 4—unless major public health eVorts on television and radio, and in that advertisements for a potentially go into getting the wider world to see http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/ newspapers and magazines, and harmful product were inconsistent what is really going on. outdoor billboards and merchandis- with the magazine’s consumer safety ing. The new law also prohibits policy. That decision, almost 50 years tobacco sponsorship of sports and ago, puts us in a unique position to Turkey: Philip cultural events, with a two year grace report...” (the groundbreaking story). period to end sponsorship contracts. Flip through the pages of Good Morris’s “youth While the bill was due to return to the Housekeeping as long as you like, and lower house of parliament for ratifica- you will certainly not see a cigarette programme” gets tion of certain alterations made advertisement. But turn to page 76 in during its passage through the senate the November edition and there you adult response at the time of writing, it was expected will find a full page colour ad from More good news from Turkey, just a

to pass into law within a matter of Philip Morris. It is a classic example of few months after health advocates saw on October 1, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. weeks. It can be done, as a pioneering the insidious new tobacco industry oV, at least for the time being, the lat- Norwegian might put it. campaign to persuade us that they est round in a covert attempt by the have changed, and really do not want tobacco industry to establish Formula children to smoke. It is classic in that One motor sport in the soccer USA: bad it focuses on the parent’s authority to dominated country for the purposes teach their children how to behave. of future cigarette promotion (see housekeeping And it is classic, too, in that while Tobacco Control 2000;9:268–9). Once Decent. As American as motherhood buying credibility and spreading again it features Philip Morris, whose and apple pie. That’s how one could dissent among some of the industry’s initial success at collaboration with a view Good Housekeeping, the leading traditional adversaries, it nicely prestigious university in Istanbul was women’s home and family oriented conveys the forbidden fruit image that one of the nastiest surprises of last monthly magazine of good, sensible, complements traditional cigarette year. Philip Morris approached responsible articles and advice about promotion. The boring, authoritarian Bosphorus University last September, the whole range of issues facing mod- “smoking is adult” theme must be a with a project called “Power is Yours” ern American families. Even the title handy softener for the “smoking is targeting sixth and seventh grade sounds like something that you might cool” message so carefully orches- (approximately 12 and 13 years old) have found, probably near the family trated through the image manage- students in Istanbul schools. bible, inside the bare but clean front ment of fashion models, pop stars and When the university asked—and room of every decent settler’s home. Formula One drivers sponsored by received—permission from the Minis- At the front of the November 2000 cigarette companies. try of Education to implement the edition, beside a photograph of the How can the perfidy of the scheme, it somehow forgot to mention editor, was a trailer for what was industry’s new strategy be explained the name of the sponsor. However,

www.tobaccocontrol.com 8 News analysis when the generous backer’s name USA: the name of Tob Control: first published as 10.1136/tc.10.1.6d on 1 March 2001. Downloaded from came to light later, journalists and international health advocates began Philip Morris to sit to contact the dean of the university, urging him to abandon the scheme. on 28 million school National publicity was generated, bringing the matter to the attention of desks no less a public health guardian than In the 1998 Master Settlement Agree- the father of Turkey’s tobacco control ment, the tobacco industry agreed to legislation, the country’s president halt all marketing and promotion (see Tobacco Control 1997;6:10–11). activities directed at children in the He asked the Ministry of Education to USA. Recently, however, Philip explain how the project had been per- Morris may well have found a clever mitted, and the next thing we know, way to circumvent the spirit of this hey presto, the Ministry of Education agreement. The Philip Morris Youth stopped it as dead in its tracks as a Prevention programme has been used Marlboro smoker falling down with a as a vehicle through which to expose heart attack. potentially 28 million school children So far as we know, this is the first to the name of Philip Morris on a time that one of the industry’s daily basis—within the safety of their wretched “youth education” pro- own classrooms. The Philip Morris book covers distributed to grammes has been stopped after Since spring 2000, Philip Morris schools. getting underway, and the reassuring has been a partner in the distribution Philip Morris’ book cover campaign lesson is that it is never too late to of colourful book covers to schools has, however, hit a snag in some protest. And encouragingly, Turkish around the USA (elementary, middle school districts. Teachers, administra- colleagues report that every new trick and high schools). The Philip Morris tors, and students have proven highly that tobacco companies try to covers are emblazoned with the distrustful of the company’s most promote their business actually results message, “Think. Don’t Smoke”— recent foray into schools, seeing the in increased public awareness about and the name of Philip Morris. Some book covers as both invasive and manipulative. Teachers and public the industry’s tactics. Let’s hope they say that this youth focused initiative is health oYcials in the “receiving don’t give up trying. little more than thinly veiled advertis- ing, and that the inclusion of the com- districts” have raised suspicions that Philip Morris is targeting either pany name is an attempt to build schools in low income areas, or states

brand recognition. As ad testing http://tobaccocontrol.bmj.com/ in which children have been exposed research has shown, the company’s to higher levels of anti-tobacco Making the Maltese anti-smoking messages (such as, messages through comprehensive cross “Think. Don’t Smoke”) are very anti-smoking campaigns. weak, compared to other anti- Teachers and students have taken People who care about health in Malta smoking messages produced by state positive action to reject the covers and were alarmed towards the end of last tobacco control programmes. At the to challenge Philip Morris’s inten- year to learn who had been appointed very least, these book covers nicely tions. The rejection of these covers to the most important new job in the supplement Philip Morris’ ongoing, has been done publicly, with student country’s educational system, the national television campaign promot- led demonstrations and press confer- president of the board of governors of ing the company as a good corporate ences. the prestigious new Malta College of citizen. The level of scepticism has been Arts, Science and Technology. The The sponsorship of school book such that students have identified on October 1, 2021 by guest. Protected copyright. brand new institution is scheduled to covers is common practice with numerous “subliminal messages” open early this year, with an initial companies who market to children. It within the covers’ images—including student population of 4000, an ambi- is usually seen as a win-win situation. reports of being able to see tobacco tious target at half the size of Malta’s The school gets needed protection for leaves, cigarettes, matches, and even university. It is intended to produce its precious resources, and children Joe Camel (an RJ Reynolds product) graduates to supply the needs of get an average of 5.5 months exposure in the covers’ images. The possibility industry, thereby aiding and shaping to the company’s name and image. of “subliminal messages” has whetted the interest of the press, and has led to the future of the economy. So who is Even better, from the viewpoint of considerable newspaper coverage to lead the bold new flagship college? Philip Morris, Primedia Cover advocating school rejection of the Step forward Mr Victor Scicluna, Concepts, which distributes the book covers. president of the Malta Employers’ covers, has the capability to target This coverage is not quite, one Association and retired boss of particular audiences. If, for example, a would presume, the kind of public Central Cigarettes Co, local subsidi- company seeks to increase its sales relations exposure for which “The ary of BAT. Quite where he will stand among young Hispanics, suitable People of Philip Morris”, as they like when a cigarette company starts schools can be identified for to be known in their corporate adver- distributing free, glossy materials pro- distribution of the relevant covers. tising in the USA, were hoping. moting cigarettes to the students, such The criteria by which schools were KATHERINE CLEGG SMITH as those seen in the Czech Republic chosen to receive Philip Morris covers MELANIE WAKEFIELD (see Tobacco Control 2000;9:11–12), is not clear and may not have been a University of Illinois at Chicago remains to be seen. random process. [email protected]

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