Cigarette Ads

Cigarette ads

In today's society many people come to find themselves influenced by ads and visual aids. Many first stream companies use this greatly to their advantage. One of the biggest industries in the United States is the tobacco industry. In many cases the ads for cigarettes have been done away with due to the influence on younger kids. If one is to see a cigarette ad he/she would thing wow this is glamorous and will make me much cooler. These ads try to show how cool it is to smoke a cigarette and how much better you would fit in if you were to smoke one. On of the famous characters for cigarette ads is Camel Joe. Today he has been outlawed due to they say that he appeals to the younger crowed and influence the younger kids. Cigarette ads are fancy and high tech but what they fail to mention is how bad they really are for you and possible lead to ones death.

Now the tobacco industry is following suit. We all know by now how the tobacco industry successfully markets its deadly product to vulnerable minority populations. First it targeted women ("You've Come a Long Way, Baby!"), then African Americans (Uptown cigarettes), and of course, children Joe Camel (Midgen). Now it has set its sights on gay and lesbian consumers. Recently the California Lavender Smoke free Project, which attempts to reduce cigarette smoking among lesbians and gays, released the results of a two-year study of advertising trends in two of our magazines, Out and the Advocate. The study indicates that cigarette advertising has doubled in each of these magazines during the last two years.

There is more disturbing news in today's society about cigarettes. The Yankelovich Monitor, a national study of American consumers by leading research firm Yankelovich Partners, indicates that smoking levels are higher among lesbians and gays than among the rest of the population. On average 36 percent of lesbian and gay adults smoke, while only 30 percent of adults nationwide smoke. Among adult gay men, the discrepancy is even higher. 42 percent of gay men smoke, as opposed to 32 percent of adult men in the general population. Other studies have shown that gays and lesbians also experience higher rates of addiction to alcohol and other drugs. Perhaps we are perpetuating this addictive behavior by accepting alcohol and tobacco money. We may also be indirectly perpetuating homophobia. In 1995 tobacco giant Philip Morris donated almost $600,000 to 41 candidates for the California State Assembly -- 37 of them Republicans. These are the same Republicans who tried unsuccessfully to make same-sex marriages illegal in the state of California and to insert anti-gay language into the state budget. On a national level the tobacco companies are hurting us too. In 1994 tobacco companies gave $260,000 to the Republican National Committee, $175,000 to the National Right to Life Political Action Committee, and more than $300,000 for a special "Salute to Newt" event. And don't forget the industry's unwavering support of Sen. Jesse Helms (R-N.C.) (Midgen). The hypocrisy of the conservative politicians who take this money cannot be understated. For instance, they demand an end to federal subsidies for abortion yet support an annual $235 million in subsidies to tobacco farmers, despite the fact that smoking causes 100,000 miscarriages a year. They claim to care about families, yet they are silent about teenage smoking. In fact, Christian Coalition leader Ralph Reed refers to Clinton's anti-tobacco crusade as a "political stunt." If you continue thumbing through out magazine you'll see ads for American Express, Calvin Klein, Abercrombie