To answer that question, we have to take a look at the top brand for underage smokers: Malboro. According to the CDC, 38.3% of middle school students and 48.8% of high school students chose Malboro. Why is this? Well, it is reported that in 2014 Malboro spent around one hundred million dollars on a campaign called "Be Malboro". This campaign was directly aimed at influencing younger generations.
Another major contributor to the underage smoking market is Juul. Speaking from experience, I can confidently tell you that they have taken over our youth far more than cigarettes have. I don't think there was a day that went by where I didn't see someone 'hitting' their Juul during school. This isn't just by chance. In 2015, the brand spent one million dollars in promotions on Instagram, Youtube, and Twitter. This social media tactic was directly aimed at a younger demographic. 
Despite all of this, these companies have attempted to do some right. Juul has removed their fruity flavors which were popular among teens. Malboro spent considerable money on anti smoking advertisements aimed at teens. A prominent example of this is the program Truth Initiative. I'm sure we've all seen their advertisements on Snapchat and other social media platforms. However, have any of you actually sat down and watched them? I'm willing to bet that most of you skip through them as fast as you can. Are these advertisements actually effective? Do these companies care that their products fall into underage hands?
It is pretty impressive that Juul has been able to pull off such a large underage crowd of people to use their product. I don't think that these types of companies care that their products fall into underage hands. They are in it for the sole purpose of money, and they do an effective job at grabbing their audience's attention to their product.
ReplyDeleteI thought that it was crazy that the movie Thank You for Smoking had Aaron Eckhart encourage kids to smoke. I love the statistics that you posted as it made me realize how much they do try and get kids to smoke. I personally am not convinced that the companies attempted to do anything right when they did the anti-smoking advertisements. In the movie, Eckhart talks about how they would do the 50 million-dollar advertisements simply to get people off their backs. I don't think that Marlboro wanted to do anything right by doing the anti-smoking advertisements. As we see in the movie, the company didn't care what smokers saw once they started smoking as they were already addicted. I feel like the anti-smoking advertisements that these companies did weren't to prevent kids from smoking or get them to stop smoking but simply to appear to the public as if they care if kids are smoking. So, I personally do not think that these advertisements are effective, and I don't think that the companies wanted them to be effective as they get more money be underage people smoking.
ReplyDeleteI think that cigarette or vape companies target underage crowds purposefully because they know that if one enjoys it, they will tell their friends, and the domino effect will begin. This draws in more money for them, so they aren't concerned with the dangers they are putting out there for their users, especially the young ones.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great example of what our society is becoming. Companies are interested more in making money than the health and safety of communities throughout the world. This has to change before our society is completely turned upside down. However, movies like Thank You for Smoking makes it difficult to spread awareness on the dangers of smoking when they are promoting cigarettes left and right.
I still remember when everyone in high school, middle school, etc. started discovering juul and other vaping companies and it took off. Just like you said, I can't remember a day where I didn't see at least 1 person hitting a vaping product. These companies definitely caught the younger crowds eye and are now making the money they were shooting for. They couldn't care less about the health side of it.
ReplyDelete