Tobacco industry deliberately targets young people in Taiwan
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《英国医生杂志》
Foreign tobacco companies have deliberately targeted young people in Taiwan, new research concludes. In the first five years after the market was opened to Western companies, the prevalence of smoking in young adults aged 18 to 24 increased from 36% to 42%, a study in Tobacco Control has found (2005;14:38-44).
"Foreign tobacco companies increased their advertising expenditure, skirted the law via brand stretching, and engaged in aggressive promotional activities at point of sale retail outlets," say the researchers from the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan.
"Nearly half of the new youth who smoke in Taiwan will develop smoking related diseases. At a minimum, these foreign tobacco companies should be held responsible, and be required to reimburse the higher health expenditures through increased tariffs levied on their products." Companies unwilling to do so should be asked to leave Taiwan抯 market, they say.
The authors looked at trends in cigarette sales, advertising expenditure, and tobacco industry documents in the wake of the opening up of the cigarette market to western companies in 1987. The report says that a year before the market was opened, after threats of trade sanctions, preferences for imported brands among young adult smokers jumped from 2% in 1986 to 77% in 2001.
The report details a large increase in "brand stretching marketing," which involves the advertising of merchandise, such as watches, that has the same brand name or logo as that used by the corresponding cigarettes. Within five years, the total spending for all forms of advertising by foreign tobacco companies, including brand stretching, increased almost fivefold (by 451%), say the authors. In 2000 alone, commercials for Mild Seven watches appeared 36 813 times on Taiwanese television.
The authors say that industry practices in Taiwan contradict industry claims that they focus marketing strategies on gaining market share from existing smokers rather than attracting new smokers. The authors say that the corporate plan of Philip Morris Taiwan repeatedly emphasised the need to place business priority on young and new smokers.
Industry documents show that the realisation that new smokers were mostly smoking imported brands, prompted the company manager in Taiwan to conclude, "Starters . . . are a very important source of (our) import development." The authors say, "Targeting starters (new smokers) would be tantamount to targeting youth, as two thirds of new smokers were underage youth in Taiwan."
Other strategies identified by the authors as suggestive of targeting young people included fashion night promotions, the Camel Smooth Character campaign, and the repeated recruitment of 18-24 years old smokers for focus groups.
"Foreign tobacco companies have deliberately targeted youth in Taiwan and succeeded in gaining three quarters of their cigarette purchases within a decade," commented the authors.(Abergavenny Roger Dobson)
"Foreign tobacco companies increased their advertising expenditure, skirted the law via brand stretching, and engaged in aggressive promotional activities at point of sale retail outlets," say the researchers from the National Health Research Institutes in Taiwan.
"Nearly half of the new youth who smoke in Taiwan will develop smoking related diseases. At a minimum, these foreign tobacco companies should be held responsible, and be required to reimburse the higher health expenditures through increased tariffs levied on their products." Companies unwilling to do so should be asked to leave Taiwan抯 market, they say.
The authors looked at trends in cigarette sales, advertising expenditure, and tobacco industry documents in the wake of the opening up of the cigarette market to western companies in 1987. The report says that a year before the market was opened, after threats of trade sanctions, preferences for imported brands among young adult smokers jumped from 2% in 1986 to 77% in 2001.
The report details a large increase in "brand stretching marketing," which involves the advertising of merchandise, such as watches, that has the same brand name or logo as that used by the corresponding cigarettes. Within five years, the total spending for all forms of advertising by foreign tobacco companies, including brand stretching, increased almost fivefold (by 451%), say the authors. In 2000 alone, commercials for Mild Seven watches appeared 36 813 times on Taiwanese television.
The authors say that industry practices in Taiwan contradict industry claims that they focus marketing strategies on gaining market share from existing smokers rather than attracting new smokers. The authors say that the corporate plan of Philip Morris Taiwan repeatedly emphasised the need to place business priority on young and new smokers.
Industry documents show that the realisation that new smokers were mostly smoking imported brands, prompted the company manager in Taiwan to conclude, "Starters . . . are a very important source of (our) import development." The authors say, "Targeting starters (new smokers) would be tantamount to targeting youth, as two thirds of new smokers were underage youth in Taiwan."
Other strategies identified by the authors as suggestive of targeting young people included fashion night promotions, the Camel Smooth Character campaign, and the repeated recruitment of 18-24 years old smokers for focus groups.
"Foreign tobacco companies have deliberately targeted youth in Taiwan and succeeded in gaining three quarters of their cigarette purchases within a decade," commented the authors.(Abergavenny Roger Dobson)