Essay About Tobacco Products And Tobacco Companies

Teenage Smoking
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Teenage Smoking
The smoking of cigarettes is said to be the most over-practiced
addiction in the world. According to the Federal Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention, the number of teenage smokers constitute
nearly 40 percent of all teenagers. This percentage continues to
increase despite the fact the oral and medical complications that
arise from smoking are publicly exposed and taught in school. Why is
this so? Perhaps it is a result from peer pressure? Could it be an
emotional escape for teenagers dealing with difficult situations?
Maybe it is fun and exciting for a teenager to rebel and start
smoking, but whatever the reason, the advertisement of tobacco
products definitely play a role to influence teenagers to start
smoking.
Tobacco products in the United States are advertised more than
automobiles are. It is also the only legal product that causes death
and disability when used as intended. Tobacco companies in 1993 spent
more than $6 billion on promotions and advertising, and in that $6
billion, $756 million was spent on novelty items such as tee shirts,
lighters, hats, free samples of tobacco, and product catalogs. In a
1992 Gallop Poll, 74 percent of the American public believed that
tobacco advertisements were meant to encourage children to smoke. The
tobacco companies are persistent in saying that their advertisements
are not meant for anyone under the age of 21. However, the largest
increase in teen smoking was in 1988, the year Joe Camel was
introduced nationally. Tobacco companies have also created things like
the Philip Morris Marlboro Adventure team, which depicts adventures
being no fun without cigarettes. A national survey found that about 86
percent of teen smokers who bought their own cigarettes preferred
Marlboro or Newport cigarettes; Marlboro and Newport cigarettes are
the most heavily advertised brands of cigarettes. Tobacco companies
have a reputation for misleading and often times beguiling
advertisements. By projecting images of fun, sexiness, glamour, being
macho, and healthfulness, smoking appears to be a normal activity that
everybody beautiful and popular should engage in. Tobacco companies,
along with advertising agencies and other print media, have had no
problem continuing to produce these misleading advertisements due to
the very powerful lobbying forces they have to represent them in
Congress. Tobacco companies are also allowed to deduct the cost of
promotion and advertising from their taxes as a business expense,
which saves them $1 billion a year in taxes. Saving this much money
allows tobacco companies to keep their advertising strong, and allows
them to reach even more teenagers across the nation. Thanks to this
mass promotion and advertising of cigarettes, it is no wonder teen
smoking has risen for the twelfth year in a row. Each year, smoking
kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, drug abuse, car crashes,