The Flavor of
Marketing to Kids
By Joseph A. Califano
Jr. and Louis W.
Sullivan
Washington Post,
6/29/06
Reynolds Tobacco
(or RJR), the company
that brought us Joe
Camel, is up to its
old tricks, targeting
our children again.
Twenty years ago
RJR created Joe Camel,
who blew smoke rings
over Times Square and
was so heavily
promoted that more
children recognized
this cartoon character
than Walt Disney’s
Mickey Mouse. Only
after years of
complaints from public
health advocates and
parents, and the
threat of legal action
by the Federal Trade
Commission, did RJR
shut down its Joe
Camel campaign.
All the while, RJR
maintained that it did
not market to
children. But with the
release of internal
company documents
years later, one of
RJR’s key papers,
“Younger Smokers—Ages
14-25,” revealed the
company’s interest in
marketing cigarettes
to young smokers.
Now RJR is
marketing the sweet
smell and taste of
flavored cigarettes
that mask the
harshness of natural
tobacco, which can
deter some first-time
smokers, especially
children. These
cigarettes are
packaged in shiny tins
with cool new names,
flashy advertising and
candy flavors ranging
from watermelon
("Beach Breezer") to
berry ("Bayou Blast")
to pineapple and
coconut ("Kauai Kolada").
As Reynolds has
known for decades, 90
percent of adult
smokers become
addicted as kids, and
the younger a child
begins to smoke, the
likelier the child is
to become a regular
smoker. Moreover, the
age at which kids
first try cigarettes
has been declining and
now stands at just
under 12. By masking
the regular tobacco
flavor and scent,
flavored cigarettes
make it even more
appealing for a 12- or
13-year-old to take
that initial puff and
keep smoking until he
or she gets hooked.
Reynolds introduced
these cigarettes in
1999, slipping a
pellet into the
cigarette filters to
give the smoke a candy
flavor. But flavored
cigarette sales really
exploded in 2004,
thanks to eye-catching
advertisements in
magazines such as
Cosmopolitan, Sports
Illustrated and
Rolling Stone—all
popular reading
material for boys and
girls. In mid-2005,
under pressure from
states such as
California and from
federal legislators,
Reynolds began pulling
these advertisements.
But the company
continues to sell its
candy-flavored smokes.
Reynolds’s claim
that it flavors
cigarettes to give
adults an alternative
to traditional smokes
is belied by the
findings of the
Roswell Park Cancer
Institute in Buffalo.
That research
institute found that,
compared with adult
smokers over 25, more
than three times as
many teens who smoke
light up flavored
cigarettes.
Reynolds now sells
five Camel Exotic
Blend flavors: Dark
Mint, Mandarin Mint,
Twist, Izmir Stinger
and Crema. In
addition, RJR has
marketed 15 Limited
Edition Camel Exotic
Blends over the past
five years, including
Winter Mochamint,
Midnight Madness and
Twista Lime.
This isn’t the
first time the company
has targeted members
of a specific group,
hoping to hook them as
lifetime smokers.
Reynolds blatantly
aimed its “Uptown”
mentholated,
nonfiltered cigarettes
at African American
consumers with plans
to inaugurate the
brand as part of
celebrations during
Black History Month in
1990. One of us (Louis
Sullivan), then
secretary of health
and human services,
denounced the
marketing of Uptown
cigarettes—the first
time a Cabinet member
had spoken out against
a specific brand. As
opposition rose among
African Americans,
Reynolds quickly
backed down.
Buoyed by its
success in pushing
candy-flavored
cigarettes, Reynolds
has now introduced
alcohol-flavored
smokes. To make them
appealing to our kids,
Reynolds has marketed
them with names based
on gambling lingo as
well: ScrewDriver
Slots, BlackJack Gin,
Snake Eyes Scotch and
Back Alley Blend (a
bourbon-flavored
cigarette).
Despite the
prevalence of national
and state anti-smoking
campaigns, 4,000 kids
under 18 will try
their first cigarette
today, and more than
1,500 other children
and teens will become
addicted. These are
the replacement
smokers Reynolds and
other tobacco
merchants need to fill
the shoes of adults
who have been killed
or crippled by
smoking, or who have
quit.
The disturbing
reality is that we may
be starting to slip
back after years of
progress in reducing
smoking among our
children. From 1997
through 2004 the
number of children who
smoke went down as
court cases and public
outrage curbed tobacco
advertising to
children. But in 2005
the youth smoking rate
increased. Is it just
a coincidence that our
success in persuading
kids to stay away from
tobacco is slowing
just as the marketing
of flavored cigarettes
is picking up?
To us, hawking
candy-flavored
cigarettes is child
abuse. It’s time for
the public, parents,
and state and federal
officials to demand an
end to it.
Joseph A.
Califano Jr. is
president of the
National Center on
Addiction and
Substance Abuse at
Columbia University.
He was secretary of
health, education and
welfare in the Carter
administration. Louis
W. Sullivan is
president emeritus of
the Morehouse School
of Medicine. He was
secretary of health
and human services
under President George
H.W. Bush.
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