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Cover page of Televised movie trailers: undermining restrictions on advertising tobacco to youth.

Televised movie trailers: undermining restrictions on advertising tobacco to youth.

(2006)

OBJECTIVE: To determine the proportion of televised movie trailers that included images of tobacco use during 1 year and the extent of youth exposure to those trailers. DESIGN: Content analysis combined with Nielsen data measuring media exposure. All movie trailers (N = 216) shown on television from August 1, 2001, through July 31, 2002. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Exposure among youth aged 12 to 17 years to televised movie trailers that included smoking imagery. RESULTS: Of the movie trailers televised during the study period, 14.4% (31 trailers) included images of tobacco use. Tobacco use was shown in 24.0% of the 23 trailers for R-rated (restricted) movies and 7.5% of the 8 trailers for PG-13- and PG-rated (parental guidance) movies. Ninety-five percent of all youth aged 12 to 17 years in the United States saw at least 1 movie trailer depicting tobacco use on television during this 1 year, and 88.8% saw at least 1 of these trailers 3 or more times. CONCLUSIONS: Nearly all US youth aged 12 to 17 years were exposed to images of tobacco use on television in the context of a movie trailer during the study period. Given the relationship between youth exposure to tobacco use in movies and smoking initiation, the public health community should work to enact policy to reduce or eliminate the influence of tobacco use in televised movie trailers.

Cover page of Effect of increased social unacceptability of cigarette smoking on reduction in cigarette consumption.

Effect of increased social unacceptability of cigarette smoking on reduction in cigarette consumption.

(2006)

Taxes on cigarettes have long been used to help reduce cigarette consumption. Social factors also affect cigarette consumption, but this impact has not been quantified. We computed a social unacceptability index based on individuals' responses to questions regarding locations where smoking should be allowed. A regression analysis showed that the social unacceptability index and price had similar elasticities and that their effects were independent of each other. If, through an active tobacco control campaign, the average individual's views on the social unacceptability of smoking changed to more closely resemble the views of California residents, there would be a 15% drop in cigarette consumption, equivalent to a 1.17 dollars increase in the excise tax on cigarettes.

Cover page of Eliminating child labour in Malawi: a British American Tobacco corporate responsibility project to sidestep tobacco labour exploitation.

Eliminating child labour in Malawi: a British American Tobacco corporate responsibility project to sidestep tobacco labour exploitation.

(2006)

OBJECTIVES: To examine British American Tobacco and other tobacco industry support of the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing Foundation. DESIGN: Analyses of internal tobacco industry documents and ethnographic data. RESULTS: British American Tobacco co-founded the Eliminating Child Labour in Tobacco Growing Foundation (ECLT) in October 2000 and launched its pilot project in Malawi. ECLT's initial projects were budgeted at US2.3 million dollars over four years. Labour unions and leaf dealers, through ECLT funds, have undertook modest efforts such as building schools, planting trees, and constructing shallow wells to address the use of child labour in tobacco farming. In stark contrast, the tobacco companies receive nearly US40 million dollars over four years in economic benefit through the use of unpaid child labour in Malawi during the same time. BAT's efforts to combat child labour in Malawi through ECLT was developed to support the company's "corporate social responsibility agenda" rather than accepting responsibility for taking meaningful steps to eradicate child labour in the Malawi tobacco sector. CONCLUSION: In Malawi, transnational tobacco companies are using child labour projects to enhance corporate reputations and distract public attention from how they profit from low wages and cheap tobacco.

Cover page of Every document and picture tells a story: using internal corporate document reviews, semiotics, and content analysis to assess tobacco advertising.

Every document and picture tells a story: using internal corporate document reviews, semiotics, and content analysis to assess tobacco advertising.

(2006)

In this article we present communication theory as a conceptual framework for conducting documents research on tobacco advertising strategies, and we discuss two methods for analysing advertisements: semiotics and content analysis. We provide concrete examples of how we have used tobacco industry documents archives and tobacco advertisement collections iteratively in our research to yield a synergistic analysis of these two complementary data sources. Tobacco promotion researchers should consider adopting these theoretical and methodological approaches.

Cover page of German tobacco industry's successful efforts to maintain scientific and political respectability to prevent regulation of secondhand smoke.

German tobacco industry's successful efforts to maintain scientific and political respectability to prevent regulation of secondhand smoke.

(2006)

OBJECTIVE: To examine the tactics the tobacco industry in Germany used to avoid regulation of secondhand smoke exposure and to maintain the acceptance of public smoking. METHODS: Systematic search of tobacco industry documents available on the internet between June 2003 and August 2004. RESULTS: In West Germany, policymakers were, as early as the mid 1970s, well aware of the fact that secondhand smoke endangers non-smokers. One might have assumed that Germany, an international leader in environmental protection, would have led in protecting her citizens against secondhand smoke pollution. The tobacco manufacturers in Germany, however, represented by the national manufacturing organisation "Verband" (Verband der Cigarettenindustrie), contained and neutralised the early debate about the danger of secondhand smoke. This success was achieved by carefully planned collaboration with selected scientists, health professionals and policymakers, along with a sophisticated public relations programme. CONCLUSIONS: The strategies of the tobacco industry have been largely successful in inhibiting the regulation of secondhand smoke in Germany. Policymakers, health professionals, the media and the general public should be aware of this industry involvement and should take appropriate steps to close the gap between what is known and what is done about the health effects of secondhand smoke.

Cover page of Wie die Tabakindustrie in Deutschland durch die Erhaltung wissenschaftlicher sowie politischer Respektabilität Rechtsvorschriften zum Schutz vor Passivrauchen verhinderte

Wie die Tabakindustrie in Deutschland durch die Erhaltung wissenschaftlicher sowie politischer Respektabilität Rechtsvorschriften zum Schutz vor Passivrauchen verhinderte

(2006)

Zielsetzung: Die Untersuchung der Taktiken welche die Tabakindustrie in Deutschland eingesetzt hat um Gesetzgebung bezüglich Passivrauchen zu vermeiden und die Akzeptanz des Rauchens in der Öffentlichkeit aufrechtzuerhalten.

Methoden: Systematische Durchsuchung von im Internet zugänglichen Tabakindustriedokumenten im Zeitraum von Juni 2003 bis August 2004.

Ergebnisse: Im damaligen West-Deutschland hatten Politiker bereits Mitte der Siebzigerjahre Kenntnisse über die Tatsache, dass Nichtraucher durch Passivrauchen gefährdet werden. Da Deutschland im Umweltschutz international eine Führungsrolle einnimmt, hätte man davon ausgehen können, dass es auch bezüglich des Schutzes seiner Bürger vor der Verschmutzung durch Passivrauchen führend gewesen wäre. Indes haben die Tabakhersteller in Deutschland, vertreten durch den Branchenverband, den Verband der Cigarettenindustrie (VdC) die frühzeitig stattgefundene Auseinandersetzung über die Gefahren des Passivrauchens in Schach gehalten und neutralisiert. Dieser Erfolg wurde durch eine sorgfältig geplante Kollaboration mit ausgewählten Wissenschaftlern, Medizinern und Entscheidungsträgern erzielt, die einher ging mit einem ausgeklügelten PR-Programm.

Schlussfolgerungen: Die Strategien der Tabakindustrie waren weitgehend erfolgreich im Hinblick auf die Verhinderung von Rechtsvorschriften bezüglich des Passivrauchens in Deutschland. Entscheidungsträger, Mediziner, die Medien und die allgemeine Öffentlichkeit sollten von diesen Verstrickungen der Tabakindustrie Kenntnis haben und sie sollten angemessene Maßnahmen ergreifen um die Diskrepanz zwischen dem, was über die gesundheitlichen Auswirkungen des Passivrauchens bekannt ist und dem was diesbezüglich getan wird, zu schließen.

Cover page of Tobacco industry litigation strategies to oppose tobacco control media campaigns

Tobacco industry litigation strategies to oppose tobacco control media campaigns

(2006)

Objective: To document the tobacco industry's litigation strategy to impede tobacco control media campaigns. Methods: Data were collected from news and reports, tobacco industry documents, and interviews with health advocates and media campaign staff. Results: RJ Reynolds and Lorillard attempted to halt California's Media Campaign alleging that the campaign polluted jury pools and violated First Amendment rights because they were compelled to pay for anti-industry ads. The American Legacy Foundation was accused of violating the Master Settlement Agreement's vilification clause because its ads attacked the tobacco industry. The tobacco companies lost these legal challenges. Conclusion: The tobacco industry has expanded its efforts to oppose tobacco control media campaigns through litigation strategies. While litigation is a part of tobacco industry business, it imposes a financial burden and impediment to media campaigns' productivity. Tobacco control professionals need to anticipate these challenges and be prepared to defend against them.