Impact of Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising on Secondary School Students

Running Head: IMPACT OF ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO ADVERTISING
Impact of Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising on Secondary School Students
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Impact of Alcohol and Tobacco Advertising on Secondary School Students
Alcohol and tobacco use are two of the most common risk factors for preventable diseases, injuries, and premature death. (Schlife, 2010) Alcohol use by youth is also associated with motor vehicle injuries, suicide, and homicide, all of which are major causes of adolescent mortality. Although it is illegal to sell alcoholic beverages to youths under 21 and, in most states, to sell tobacco products to teenagers under 18, the alcohol and tobacco industries actively target young people with advertising and promotions. Through youth oriented campaigns, the alcohol and tobacco industries create an environment in which the consumption of these dangerous products is acceptable and, within some teenage peer groups, even expected.
Many health promotion efforts to reduce health risks emphasize individual behavior change and ignore the critical role of environmental and social factors. Although the use of tobacco and alcohol is legal for adults, the aggressive marketing and promotion tactics of both the alcohol and tobacco industries heavily target the youth market. Both industries use similar strategies to appeal to youth and increase market share.
The public health community must respond with a concerned, coordinated effort against the tactics used to appeal to youth through tobacco and alcohol advertising and promotion. This response is consistent with long-standing efforts by the American Public Health Association in support of restrictions on advertising, promotion, and consumption of alcohol and tobacco products. (Wolfe and Carlos, 2011) This study aims to outline alcohol and tobacco industry marketing practices directed at youth and to provide policy recommendations to restrict these targeting efforts and to assess should alcohol and tobacco advertisements be banned in the interest of citizens` health?
Background of the problem
Connolly, Orleans and Blum (2009) revealed Alcohol and tobacco as two of the most heavily promoted product categories in America. Both the tobacco and alcohol industries rely heavily on images in print, broadcast, and point-of-purchase campaigns that link their products with success, social acceptance, sexuality, friendship, youth, attractiveness, and physical vigor. Such images often have a significant impact on impressionable teens that are grappling with these issues.
Where did it come from?
The foremost tobacco commercial in the United States published in 1789 when what is now the Lorillard Tobacco Company sponsored their product in a local New York newspaper. (DeParle, 2007) Today annual advertising and promotion costs are estimated at $3.6 billion for the tobacco industry and $2.0 billion for the alcohol industry. (Schlife, 2010) These costs are tax deductible. Although the tobacco and alcoholic beverage industries deny that they promote to young people, research documents that cigarette and alcohol advertising and promotional campaigns are especially appealing and attractive to teenagers and children. Tobacco and alcohol companies claim to present smoking and drinking as adult behaviors in their "prevention" programs. However, these campaigns are often unclear. (Schlife, 2010)
Why it is important to discuss
It is highly needed in interest of nation to discuss this issue as Tobacco use results in approximately 434,000 deaths and costs society $52 billion in the United States annually. Over 100,000 Americans die each year from alcohol-related causes with an annual economic cost of over $90 billion. (Gerbner, 2004) Early use of either product can result in long-term addiction, health problems, and premature death. (Lando, Forster and Hourigan, 2009) While the majority of health problems associated with teenage tobacco use arises later in life, alcohol related trauma is the leading cause of death for minors.
Schlife (2010) revealed about one-quarter of the high school seniors smoked their first cigarette by grade 6 and one-half by grade 8. The earlier smoking is initiated and the longer it is continued, the greater the probability of addiction and tobacco-related disease. (Connolly, Orleans and Blum, 2009) The addictive properties of tobacco make it as difficult for young people to quit as it is for adults. According to a Weekly Reader National Survey on Drugs and Drinking, slightly over 45% of students in grades 4 to 6 identified cigarettes and alcohol as drugs whereas about 90% of the students identified marijuana and cocaine as drugs. Only 27% of the students identified wine coolers as a drug. (Connolly, Orleans and Blum, 2009)
Countless times before reaching age 21, the average American child will see alcohol attractively presented on television advertisements, in magazine and billboard ads, and in point-of-purchase displays where alcohol is sold. Studies show that the more children are exposed to beer advertising the more likely they are to expect to drink as adults. Additionally, surveys have consistently demonstrated that young people see and are influenced by beer commercials. In poll conducted for the industry-funded Century Council, 73% of respondents felt that alcohol advertising was a major contributor to underage drinking. (Wolfe and Carlos, 2011)
Public Policy
Although the United States government initiated anti-smoking and drinking legislation on behalf of public interests, the effectiveness of that policy in reducing their consumption is questionable. The health-warning labels were required on cigarette packages so that consumers would be reminded about the negative aspects of smoking and, therefore, cut down or quit. However, consumption did not decline to any degree after the warning labels were instituted few decades ago. Consumers either did not see the label, or they did not pay attention to it. On the one hand, the theory of perceptual defense states that consumers shut out or do not attend to those messages that are contrary to their beliefs. On the other hand, research on attention and forgetting demonstrates that after consumers are familiar with a message, their attention to it declines. That finding is one of the major arguments for rotating health warning labels on cigarette packages and in cigarette advertising as required by the Comprehensive Smoking Education Act.
Moreover, public health advocates are more and more urging legislators to implement counter-advertising campaigns. In response to that, Florida, California and Massachusetts State public health departments made significant efforts to decrease juvenile smoking rates in their states by supporting tobacco counter-advertising campaigns. (US Department of Health and Human Services, 2010) This strategy should also be utilized as part of a complete public health policy in order to decrease rates of alcohol consumption in youths. As part of the control over the sale of alcoholic beverages exercised by the states, 35 states now regulate alcoholic beverage advertising. Together with counter-advertising, underage alcohol consumption can be reduced by diminishing youth exposure to alcohol advertising and marketing.
Description of Literature
Over two-thirds of high school seniors are current drinkers, with 33% reporting binge drinking-the consumption of five or more drinks at a sitting-within the past two weeks and approximately 454,000 seniors report binge drinking at least once a week. (Radecki, 2005)
Among college freshmen, the percent of recent binge drinkers rises to 57.4% of the men and 35.5% of the women. (Fischer, Schwartz and Richards, 2005) It is estimated that four and one-half million young people are dependent or problem drinkers. As mentioned by De-parle (2007) alcohol-related trauma-including child abuse, auto crashes, violence, and drowning -is the leading cause of death among those aged 1 to 19.
Most tobacco users develop the habit as adolescents. Eighty to 90% of smokers start before the age of 20. (Connolly, Orleans and Blum (2009) Of the 434,000 US tobacco-related deaths in 2005, one-half occurred in people who began smoking by age 13 and one-quarter in people who began smoking by age 11. Smokeless tob...