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Introduction
Smoking is among bad habits which reflect young people’s addictive practice with regards to negative behavior. In this respect adolescents can become smokers of traditional or electronic cigarettes and cigars in addition to smokeless tobacco users. This trend indicates that adult smokers tend to start before they turn eighteen, and statistics proves that “14% of high school students smoke cigarettes, 13% smoke cigars, and 6% use [smokeless tobacco]” . Addiction to traditional and electronic cigarettes derives from availability of tobacco products for sale, peer group influences and most importantly advertising. Advertising impacts American young individuals’ attitudes and behaviors concerning use of tobacco in a negative way. American media advertising and advertising in retail stores can induce youths to use traditional and electronic cigarettes, which poses health concerns and requires relevant preventive measures.
Effect of Smoking Advertising on American Youth
Initiation
Advertising may contribute to initiation, since it functions as a determinant of curiosity to sample tobacco products in young days. Youths’ curiosity specifies their interest in tobacco and stresses the likelihood of their attention towards smoking and then relative impulsive behavior. In this regard, adolescents’ interest in tobacco serves as an indicator of susceptibility, which in turn emphasizes smoking experimentation and subsequent established use.
While pro-tobacco advertising correlates with adolescents’ curiosity, becoming aware of potential risks and harms is about to reduce it. In the latter case information about the outcomes placed on packages or communicated via antismoking messages can be of great importance. Conversely, the young people who have never been subject to tobacco use can display interest in smoking either out of curiosity, availability or immediate peer group influences. These cases are a major public health concern, because cigarettes mark the most widely used tobacco product.
Concerns about E-Cigarette Smoking
Advertising of electronic cigarettes has come into use recently, therefore it demands special attention. “Electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) are battery-powered devices resembling traditional cigarettes and are designed to deliver nicotine vapor” . Youths have had experience in using e-cigarettes, which posits a number of concerns. Firstly, it is possible that e-cigarette might result in tobacco use. Although there is no evidence about risks for addiction to nicotine among adolescents, they can evince curiosity by trying traditional cigarettes. Secondly, e-cigarette may weaken social norms in terms of tobacco. While there exist indoor air and household policies to support cessation of adult tobacco use and reduce its initiation by young people, approval of e-cigarettes challenges such rules among adolescents who may fail to differentiate between e-cigarette and traditional smoking. Thirdly, e-cigarette can hinder termination among smokers of cigarettes. This idea is supported by individuals’ avoiding smoking restrictions when feeling inclined to combine traditional cigarettes and e-cigarettes without attempting to quit.
E-cigarette smoking, like traditional smoking, is viewed as a negative trend among young people despite tobacco companies’ efforts to extensively market their products. Although health outcomes caused by e-cigarette use are still under investigation, vulnerability to nicotine poses harmful effects on youths’ brain, which can hamper development of executive functions. Also, fostering views and behaviors sustained by media advertising is likely to cause harm to youths.
Media Advertising
Exposure to advertising is associated with adolescents’ viewing use of tobacco in movies, on television, at the point of sale. Strong advertising campaigns are mainly connected with emerging products, and they especially refer to advertising of e-cigarettes, as tobacco companies have recently launched their new products on the market. E-cigarette companies as well as popular media promote publicly accessible information about such types of cigarettes.
Extensive television advertising mainly affects adolescents rather than adults although it can primarily target the adult audience. Duke et al. ascertain that “the substantial rise in national television e-cigarette advertising levels may have begun influencing youth e-cigarette beliefs and behaviors since October 2012” . This influence is achieved by depicting celebrities who exhale e-cigarette vapor and comment on beneficial effects of smoking. In this way young people’s behavior can derive from advertising exposure and rely on social standards about tobacco use. The norms are also connected with people surrounding adolescents: family members or peers.
Advertising in Retail Stores
The tobacco industry markets its products by spending huge amounts of money on making retail stores the most important advertising channel. Tobacco companies encourage retailer incentives as well as promotions at the point of sale. Cigarette products are placed behind checkout counters to make young people interested. Their perception of easy access to cigarettes is connected with smoking prevalence because of exposure to retail tobacco marketing.
If adolescents fail to observe tobacco products in stores, there can be less chance for them to purchase such products in virtual stores. Young individuals can find it difficult to purchase tobacco products if no ads or no displays come in sight. Absence of advertisements is associated with policies to ban the display of tobacco products at the point of sale. In this case antismoking messages at the point of sale can mitigate the effect enclosed tobacco displays.
On the other hand, no displays can become the forbidden fruit for adolescents who may consider it more desirable when access to tobacco products is restricted. Moreover, cabinets labeled “cigarettes” can convince youths that such products are on sale for adults. In this regard individuals may feel grown-up to purchase them, and this idea is proven by the claims that “tobacco industry documents reveal that tobacco advertising has explicitly attempted to convey the message that smoking cigarettes is synonymous with being an adult” .
Preventive Measures
Use of tobacco among young people can be mitigated by preventive measures. “States have experienced dramatic budget cuts for tobacco prevention programs” . Namely, preventing initiation is considered to be the most effective way. It is especially vital to pay close attention to it due to reference to the succeeding process of becoming a smoker of traditional or e-cigarettes.
Additionally, it is necessary to strengthen warnings on tobacco products, which are likely to reduce youths’ curiosity, and to keep children from expressing interest in them. Warnings which appear on ads are about to reduce exposure to tobacco products as well. As regards another area for policy intervention, it is important to restrict tobacco product advertising. The effect of antismoking messages at the point of sale and enclosed tobacco displays can be tested in virtual stores when young individuals can be given a chance to purchase tobacco products.
Conclusion
Advertising may contribute to initiation which indicates interest in tobacco products, then susceptibility, smoking experimentation and later established use. However, awareness of risks and harms can eliminate the initiation process. Moreover, advertising e-cigarettes posits concerns in case of becoming addicted to tobacco use, undermining social standards about tobacco, and deferring cessation among smokers of traditional cigarettes. Development of youths’ executive functions relates to harmful effects of nicotine on their brain. Additionally, strong television advertising campaigns are mainly connected with celebrities using e-cigarettes. Another advertising channel refers to retail stores showing young individuals’ perception of easy access to cigarettes. Nonetheless, absence of advertisements, no displays of tobacco products at the point of sale can serve as a constraint to purchase cigarettes. Other measures relate to preventing initiation, strengthening warnings on tobacco products and on ads, and restricting tobacco product advertising. As a result, advertising cigarettes via media and in retail stores in the United States can cause negative attitudes and behaviors in youths.
References
Duke, Jennifer C., Youn O. Lee, Annice E. Kim, Kimberly A. Watson, Kristin Y. Arnold, James M. Nonnemaker, and Lauren Porter. “Exposure to Electronic Cigarette Television Advertisements among Youth and Young Adults.” Pediatrics 134, no. 1 (2014): e29-e36. doi:10.1542/peds.2014-0269
Kim, Annice E., James M. Nonnemaker, Brett R. Loomis, Asma Baig, Edward Hill, John W. Holloway, Matthew C. Farrelly, and Paul R. Shafer. “Influence of Tobacco Displays and Ads on Youth: A Virtual Store Experiment.” Pediatrics 131, no. 1 (2013): e88-e95. doi:10.1542/peds.2012-0197
Portnoy, David B., Charles C. Wu., Cindy Tworek, Jiping Chen, and Nicolette Borek. “Youth Curiosity about Cigarettes, Smokeless Tobacco, and Cigars Prevalence and Associations with Advertising.” American Journal of Preventive Medicine 47, no. 2S1 (2014): S76-S86. Accessed June 10, 2016. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2014.04.012
Thesis Statement
American media advertising and advertising in retail stores can induce youths to use traditional and electronic cigarettes, which poses health concerns and requires relevant preventive measures.
3. Conclusion
