HELSINKI (Finland), August 7, 2003 – Tobacco companies around the world seem to be overflowing with imagination when it comes to circumventing laws that prohibit them from advertising their products.
Participants at the International Conference on Tobacco Control, which takes place this week in Helsinki, Finland, heard that the tobacco industry uses by-products – such as caps, lighters, clothing and cigarette bags. sport – to reach young people. Some tobacco companies even have their own chain of stores!
Sponsorship of products and services, such as tourist guides or websites, is also said to be booming. Since it is almost impossible to regulate the Internet due to its cross-border nature, groups that campaign against tobacco use see it as a vehicle that tobacco companies will necessarily fall back on, especially when the time comes to reach out to young people.
Then, in the opinion of an expert, Hollywood would also be part of the problem, since the actors who smoke on the screen would have a huge influence on the decision of young people to start smoking or not. An Internet site1 was also created to encourage Hollywood to remove all references to tobacco from its productions.
But legislating to restrict the use or promotion of tobacco can be problematic. In Malaysia, for example, direct advertising of tobacco products increased after a law banning it came into effect! Experts therefore agree that anti-smoking laws must be as tight as possible, since tobacco companies are masters in the art of exploiting the loopholes they may contain.
Jean-François Lamarche (Helsinki) and Jean-Benoit Legault – PasseportSanté.net
1. www.smokefreemovies.ucsf.edu
