New Poll: Teens Still Feel Targeted By Tobacco Advertising and Find It
Easy to Buy Cigarettes
WASHINGTON, March 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Kids across Georgia
will rally against tobacco on April 2 as they join thousands of young
people nationwide for the 13th annual Kick Butts Day, sponsored by the
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Hundreds of events are planned across the
nation (for a list of local events, go to
http://www.kickbuttsday.org/events).
This year, Kick Butts Day is raising awareness about continued tobacco
marketing and sales to kids and the need for Congress to crack down on
these harmful practices by passing legislation granting the U.S. Food and
Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products.
Ten years after the 1998 state tobacco settlement, a new poll conducted
for Kick Butts Day 2008 finds that kids still feel targeted by tobacco
advertising and still find it easy to buy tobacco products. The national
telephone survey of 507 teens (12-17 year olds) and 1,008 adults found:
-- Three-fourths of teens (74 percent) think tobacco companies want
them to smoke, and 70 percent think tobacco companies target them with
their advertising.
-- Teens are twice as likely as adults to remember tobacco advertising.
While almost half (47 percent) of teens recalled tobacco advertising from
the last two weeks before the survey, only 24 percent of adults did. Among
teens who recalled tobacco advertising, the most commonly mentioned source
was "in or outside a store."
-- Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of teens think it is easy for
teenagers to buy tobacco products. Among 15-17 year olds, 76 percent think
it is easy.
The survey was conducted March 5-10, 2008, by International
Communications Research and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.4
percentage points for the teen survey and 3.1 percentage points for the
adult survey. A report about the poll findings and the impact of tobacco
marketing on youth can be found at:
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/kbd2008poll
To protect kids from tobacco addiction and save lives, health advocates
are urging Congress to pass pending legislation (S. 625/H.R. 1008) granting
the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products. The House Energy and
Commerce Committee is expected to vote on the legislation on Kick Butts Day
(April 2). Representative John Barrow (D-GA) is a member of that committee
and a cosponsor of the legislation.
Among other things, the legislation would grant the FDA authority to
crack down on tobacco marketing and sales to kids; require that tobacco
companies disclose the contents of their products and reduce or remove
harmful ingredients; stop tobacco companies from misleading the public
about the health risks of tobacco products; and require larger, more
effective health warnings on tobacco products.
"It is unacceptable that tobacco products are the number one cause of
preventable death in the United States, yet they are virtually unregulated
to protect our kids and the nation's health," said William V. Corr,
Executive Director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "By granting the
FDA authority over tobacco products, Congress can stop the tobacco industry
from targeting our children and misleading the public. We hope Kick Butts
Day will inspire our nation's leaders to take effective action to protect
children and save lives."
At the state level, health advocates are urging governors and
legislators to adopt proven measures to reduce tobacco use and exposure to
secondhand smoke, including higher tobacco taxes, smoke-free workplace
laws, and well-funded programs to prevent kids from smoking and help
smokers quit.
Since the 1998 tobacco settlement, tobacco companies have nearly
doubled their annual marketing expenditures, from $6.9 billion in 1998 to
$13.4 billion in 2005 - more than $36 million per day, according to the
Federal Trade Commission. In Georgia, tobacco companies spend $444.8
million a year to market their products.
Nationwide, tobacco use kills more than 400,000 people and costs the
nation nearly $100 billion in health care bills each year, and 23 percent
of high school students smoke. In Georgia, tobacco use claims 10,300 lives
and costs the state $2.25 billion in health care bills a year, and 17.2
percent of high school students smoke.
On Kick Butts Day, kids turn the tables on Big Tobacco with events that
range from "They put WHAT in a cigarette?" demonstrations to mock-funerals
for the Marlboro Man to rallies at state capitols. Activities in Georgia
include (all events are on April 2 unless otherwise noted):
The Library Teen Advisory Council in Lakeland will participate in a
cigarette butts clean up throughout the town of Lakeland. They will also
demonstrate the number of people who die every day from tobacco-related
diseases at the Miller-Lakeland Public Library. Time: 9 AM. Location: 124
S. Valdosta Road, Lakeland. Contact: Paula Bennett (229) 482-2904.
Note to the media: For a list of Kick Butts Day events in Georgia visit
http://www.kickbuttsday.org/events. Additional information about tobacco,
including state-by-state statistics, can be found at
http://www.tobaccofreekids.org.
SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
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