Chapter 15 Children and teen smoking

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"Project Sixteen" was begun in 1976 by Imperial Tobacco of Canada, sister company

to Brown and Williamson. The company in a 1977 summary discovered that serious

efforts to learn to smoke occur at 12 or 13 years old. "Part of the thrill of adolescent

smoking is the thrill of hiding it from parental wrath." "In some cases, the beginning

smoker is not just emulating the peer group in general, but copying a specific member

of it that is respected and admired..." "More important reasons for this attraction are

the 'forbidden fruits' aspect of cigarettes. The adolescent seeks to display his new

urge for independence with a symbol, and cigarettes are such a symbol since they are

associated with adulthood and at the same time the adults seek to deny them to the

young." The company thus must ally itself with the children, against "adults" and aid the

child in proclaiming "his break with childhood at least to his peers."

Smokescreen, p. 83

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"Evidence is now available to indicate that the 14-to18-year-old group is an

increasing segment of the smoking population. RJR must soon establish a successful

new brand in this market if our position in the industry is to be maintained over the

long term."

From a 1976 R.J. Reynolds internal memo (Tobacco Control, Autumn 1997, p. 234)

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Tobacco companies regularly and emphatically assert that 'we don't want kids to

smoke', yet they spend billions on advertising campaigns featuring cowboys and

cartoon characters. Not surprisingly, Marlboro and Camel are the brands most

commonly smoked by kids; in California, 59% of 12 to 17 year old smokers smoke

Marlboros and 23% smoke Camels."

JAMA, February 10, 1993, p. 793

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Thursday, July 06, 2000

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