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Although tobacco advertising has been
progressively restricted in Australia since 1976, including print, radio
and television bans, it hasn't stopped the tobacco industry from finding
creative new ways of getting around advertising
bans.
Tobacco advertising and promotion is causally related to tobacco
use:
see US
National Cancer Institute's 5-year worldwide report (2008)
In shops
Through deals with retailers, the tobacco industry
maintains high visibility for its deadly products by "front of
shop" displays in supermarkets and other retail outlets. ASH would
like to see tobacco out of sight in retail outlets. More...
Tobacco products are also available in duty free outlets -
including airports, so they're the first thing overseas visitors see of
Australia when they get off the plane (see the
picture below).
Sport, music and fashion
Sporting events, fashion shows, rave parties, rock concerts, websites, trendy product handouts
- these are some of the marketing tactics used recently by tobacco companies to
glamourise smoking and promote their products to young people.
The tobacco industry is pushing its
products to young people at music events - via a range of mobile and
temporary selling techniques, sponsorship and other deals with event
organisers. See pictures below. ASH and other health groups have called for these forms of
tobacco promotion to be banned. See
ASH / Heart
Foundation media release 4/8/07 with link to recent article in
Tobacco Control journal
See the excellent article
in the Sydney Morning Herald by ASH Board member Prof Simon
Chapman on the inconsistency between stars turning out for cancer
charities but smoking publicly and glamorously.
In a win for public health, the NSW Health
Department successfully challenged Philip
Morris and Wavesnet over advertising breaches targeting young women
at a student fashion show. They pleaded guilty and were fined a total of
$94,000. A picture of an earlier (Melbourne) promotion is below - together with some
other recent marketing tactics that could
be happening at a shop or event near you.
And in sport, having just gotten rid
of tobacco sponsorship of Formula One racing in Australia, now we see
MotoGP champion Casey Stoner bedecked in tobacco logos and watched by
thousands of young Australians (SEE BELOW).
The Tobacco Advertising Prohibition Act is under
review and is an opportunity to seek an end to all forms of tobacco
advertising and promotions. Meanwhile, if you know of a suspected breach of the laws on
tobacco advertising, contact
ASH and we can advise you on the best steps to take.
"Harm reduction"
The tobacco industry has made several attempts to launch so-called
"harm reduction" products to try to weaken advertising bans
and further a "socially responsible" image. The latest is the
"Heatbar" launched in Australia in 2007. See
article by ASH Board member Prof Simon Chapman in the Sydney
Morning Herald 29/8/07
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Welcome to Australia...
land of duty free health harm
First thing you see when you get off the plane
at Sydney Airport: rows of cigarette packets
visible to adults and children. More recently, passengers have
been routed straight through the middle of the duty free displays!
On top of this, QANTAS and other airlines have been pushing
cigarettes displayed atop cabin trolleys within centimetres of
passengers - including children. See
ASH
media release 16/7/08
ASH has called for an end to duty free
cigarette sales... and displays like this.
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Casey Stoner:
Australia's new Marlboro Man Our Young Australian of the Year,
role model to kids worldwide ...
who see him (Sydney Telegraph pic) riding in this 2008 MotoGP race
with his clothing, helmet and bike
plastered with
cigarette logos.
See ASH
media release 29/8/08
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Here's Casey again - front cover of
popular Australian motorbike mag Two Wheels (July 2007). It would
have been easy for the mag -
and the newspaper above - to photoshop the logos out of these pics -
but they chose not to.
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Pushing tobacco to
youth
at music events These
were taken at Byron Bay's Splendour in the Grass festival, August
'07. One of many music events where tobacco companies push
tobacco to young people in smoking tents -
with DJs, comfy seats, young
models
and stage-handy location. 
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GOOD MOVE:
The NSW government has now promised to ban all mobile tobacco
selling of this kind. We'd like to see all states and
territories follow suit.
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Importing tobacco
ads This is
one of four cigarette ads
in the July 2004 GQ glossy men's mag - Australian
distribution over 50,000 plus possible 90,000 more in cutdown
composite with Vogue (see below).
Note use of "alluring"
(also used in Oyster mag below)
- sounds so much nicer than "addicting", doesn't
it. |
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Smoking in Vogue
Another imported promotion:
Actress Sophie Marceau on a cover
(August 2003) which would be illegal
if published in Australia
but is freely available in shops
as an imported periodical.
Health groups have urged that this
loophole be closed quickly under Federal legislation.
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The Alpine
Girls
Promotions like this
at fashion shows
(this one in Melbourne)
were found to be
illegal
and eventually led to
Philip
Morris and Wavesnet
being fined for breaking
NSW tobacco advertising
laws.
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The Alpine Fridge
These displays of
chilling promotional bravado
are illegal
in NSW
but
they were still used in some shops
and have been sighted in other
states.
And see how they got it displayed
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from Philip
Morris' files, 1995 |
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Stuyvesant tins
Silver containers promoting
Peter Stuyvesant cigarette
brand,
handed out to the teenage audience
at a 2002 Sydney pop concert.
Very flash - with the added advantage of neatly concealing health warnings
that might spoil the
pleasure.
The manufacturer of the
brand
say they had nothing to do with it.
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Page last updated on
30/9/08
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