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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

i686
THE CONFEDERATION OF EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
CIGARETTE MANUFACTURERS LIMITED
Tobacco Advertising
and Children
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

TOBACCO ADVERTISING AND CHILDREN
There appears to be disagreement in the EC Health Council on
the EC Commission's proposed directive to ban tobacco
advertising.
There is growing recognition that bans on tobacco advertising
do not lead to a reduction in smoking.
Anti-smokers have been using the emotive argument that
advertising encourages children to start smoking.
But there is no convincing evidence to suggest ~hat it encourages
anybody - adult or child - to start, or that advertising bans
reduce consumption.
Advertising and consumption
The latest USA stud.'.', published in 1992. examines the
relationship of cigarette advertising or, consumption from 1961
to 19909
It concludes that over the past 30 vears "there is a lack of
consistent empirical information linking cigarette consumption
to advertising expenditure".
The findings suggest, as other researchers have found, that
"aggregate cigarette consumption is prima~y related to price
and income and not to advertising expendivures."
In New Zealand, where a partial advertising ban was imposed
in 1990, significant price increases and an economic recession
were primarily responsible for the decline in overall
consumption.
This was recognised by the UK Parliamentary Under-Secretary
of State at the Department of Health, SteFhen Dorrell, in a
I Gary. B Wilcox, University of Texas, Austin and Barry Vacker, Southern
Methodist University. Dallas, Texas.
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

Commons Written Answer on November 12, 1991 when he
said: "Changes in New Zealand's attitude to smoking led to a
decline in tobacco consumption before the imposition of a ban
and this decline has continued. At the same time, economic
factors such as a fall in incomes have had an impact."
In Canada, where the only comprehensive judicial review of
tobacco advertising and consumption to have taken place was
heard last year, a Quebec High Court Judge overturned
legislation which banned tobacco advertising.
He ruled: "The virtual totality of the scientific documents in the
State's possession, at the time the Act was passed, does not
demonstrate that a ban on advertising would affect
consumption."
Experience in Europe shows that in the UK and the Netherlands,
where advertising is permitted, overall consumption has
declined by more than 20% during the last decade alone. In
Norway, Finland and Iceland, where bans were imposed m the
1970s, consumption has since either increased, or failed to
match the same rates of decline.
In reviewing international data, German National Ministry of
Health scientific adviser Professor R Bergler: found that existing
research does not support the claim that advertising bans have
a preventative effect.
He stated: "The expected effects of advertising bans - that is, a
drastic reduction of smoking frequency and a strong spreading
of negatwe attitude towards smoking - are not forthcoming."
-'Professor R Bergier: "Zi~arettenkonsum im )ugendalter", Deutscher
Instituts X'erl;ig, ~hriftenreihe zur argewandten Sozialpsychologie
199s..
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

Children and smoking - the McDonald survey
The Tobacco Advisory Council in Britain recently commissioned
consultant Colin McDonald, a member of the Market Research
Socie .ty, to write, "Children, Smoking and Advertising"" - an
objective review of all the significant recent research studies
which examine the relationship between tobacco advertising
and ~.lvenile smoking initiation.
He concludes that all the studies attempting to establish a
connection between advertising and smoking by children, fail
to do so.
Challenging the claim that advertising predisposes children
towards smoking, McDonald writes: "This inference remains
hypothetical only; it cannot be derived from the data."
Children may recall advertisements for many products, including
tobacco, says McDonald, but it does not follow that they will
therefore be attracted to smoking, or see it as socially approved.
And he dismisses as "unjust~,fied and unworthy~, claims that
"sinister" and persuasive influences can be implanted in young
children's minds.
Bergler backs up these finding, concluding that there is no
convincing empirical evidence for a causal effect of cigarette
advertising on smoking initiation in young people.
°Pending publication.
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

Why do children smoke?
Child-en's motivations for smoking are complex.
No one explanation or interpretation is possi.b[e, says 8ergler.
Nume.'ous psychological studies show that many lifesWle factors
are L-.volved. Personali.ty, self-image, peer group pressure,
whe:ker or not parents smoke and simple curiosity can
dete.--~- ine the decision to begin. Helping to resolve personal
con~:c:s which arise at school or in the family are given as
other reasons.
Berg.'er concludes that young smokers want to be less conformist,
more ~'own-up and independent. They have a different self-
imace from non-smokers, which is evident before they start
smo'.,c.ng - and evidence suggests it is unlikely that young
peo..-ie are ~.~luenced to begin smoking by advertising messages.
Chi~-~ren are not at all naive about advertising, he says, and the
majo."k~, of youngsters between ages 7-12 are anti-tobacco.
Ano-ner independent study, published in November 1990, also
ider.~L'-ied peer pressure and parental example as key masons.
The report "Why Children Start Smoking", undertaken by the
Of~.ce of Population Censuses and Surveys, for the UK's
Department of Health, highlighted seven major factors as
too=rations for smoking.
Advertising was not one of them,
Th~ multi-factoral view is shared by many researchers. Not
leas: Rabier (1991), whose study comparing the psycho-social
aspe:ts of smoking in the EC's 12 member states shows that
advertising "is not a particularly important predictor" in
dete.,"mining why children smoke.
Th9 study, amongst others, confirms that the anti-smoking
lob'.':v has distorted the debate by attempting to show that
advertising is a prime .~actor in juvenile smoking initiation - and
b.v :ailing to take other motivations into account.
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

What advertising does not do
Advertising does not have the power to make consumers buy
products they do not want - and tobacco is no exception.
International evidence from a number of surveys clearly show
that advertising bans do not reduce overall consumption.
For example, bans in Finland and Norway have been ineffective
in reducing smo~ng among their young people.
Since tobacco advertising was prohibited in Nor~'ay in 1975,
and Finland in 1978, both countries are held up by anti-smokers
as examples of what ought to happen in the UK, the Netherlands
and Germany.
Norway - the evidence
A study in the journal of the Norwegian Medical Association
(1990)-~ reported that the ban has had no discernible effect on
the incidence of smoking in Norway.
Between 1977 and 1989 the incidence of smoking among
Norwegian youth declined by 13~ among 15-24 year olds - a
slower rate of decline than the UK (16,~ among 16-24 year
olds).
The proportion of young male smokers dropped by a
significantly lesser extent in Norway than in the UK (Norway
5~ decrease, UK 9~}. While the decline in smoking incidence
among young females was slightly greater in Norway than the
UK, the proportion who smoke has remained consistently higher
through the same pe.,'iod than in the UK.
Gotestam. K 0 and Gomstam, K G "Smoking and Attitudes Toward
Smoking in .~nr.va.v". TJddskz nor Laegeforen. I,~0, ]7(110): 2250-].
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

In a ]ater report, in 1992~ the same researchers went on to
hypothesise that an advertising ban leads to reduced smoking
and tobacco sales - and concluded that their results did not
support this.
Norway is consistently poor in almost all smoking reduction
comparisons. For example, the drop in number of male smokers
in the USA, England, and Sweden in 1977-87 was 22.5% - 25%,
compared to 8% in Norway. The reduction for women was
12.9,% - 18.4%, compared to a Norwegian increase of 12%.
The chief of the Tobacco Products Control Unit in Canada has
questioned the reliability of studies cited bv anti-smokers to
support their lobby, on the grounds that it is based on "small
samples of a rather narrow age range".
The Norway data, he said, do not offer "compelling evidence
that banning tobacco product advertising reduces either smoking
by youth, or overall tobacco consumption".
Finland
Smoking among 12-18 year olds had been declining sharply
before the ban on tobacco product advertising was imposed.
University. of Helsinki researchers found that since the ban,
smoking among teenagers had increased and in 1989 the
percentage of teenagers who smoked daily, was greater than
when the Act on Smoking came into effect.
' Gotestam, K O and Cotestam, K G Psychological Reports 1992. 70.
531-537.
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

THE EUROPEAN EVIDENCE
Evidence from across Europe demonstrates that the trend for
smoking among children is falling, The decline among younger
smokers is also at a much faster rate than among adults.
Denmark
A review of the data available shows that for the 20-year period
from 1971 to 1991, there has been a significant drop in the
number of young people smoking cigarettes in Denmark -
declining by 46% to 20,9%. This compares with the virtually
static situation in the case of all adults, with 38.8% still smoking
in 1991.
Percentage Smoking Cigarettes*
1971 1981 1991
(lst half)
15-19 years 38.6% 29.2% 20.9%
All Adults 38.2% 39.2% 38.8%
"Source: Gallup Omnibus. ]990
France
In France, the figures published by the Comit~ Fran~ais
d'Education pour la Sant~ shows that smoking among 12-18
year olds has been falling at a much faster rate than among all
smokers. In 1977 these younger smokers represented 46% of all
cigarette smokers, but by 1983 they accounted for 36% and in
1991 for 30.5%. Smoking prevalence among adults remained
constant at 40%.
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

Belgium
Similarly, the Belgian smoking statistics reveal that, betweer~
1986 and 1990, there had been a considerable fall in the
proportion of young people smoking - Ear in excess of the
decline among adults.
Percentage Smoking Cigarettes"
1982 1986/87 1990 %Change
1982/90
15-17 years
Boys 16% 5% -69
Girts 10% 8% -20
Adults
Men 52% 42% 39% -26
Women 28% 26% 26% -7
"Source: CP, IOC-SOBEMAP
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

West Germany
The German smoking figures highlight the large decline in
children smoking across the seven year period from 1981 to
1987, which was at a much faster rate than for adults.
Percentage Smokers"
1981 1987 .~ Change
Boys 12-14 years 9% 3% -67
Girls 12-14 years 6% 4% -33
Boys 15-17 years 39% 32% -18
Girls 15-17 years 37g~. 33% -11
Adults Men 45.7% 41.7% -9
Adults Women 22.4% 22.8% NC
"Source:
Adult figures: The Maxwell Report: International Tobacco 1990. Part
One, 9 May 1991.
Boys/Girls figures: "Jugend und Drogen" - Eine Studie ~iber
Konsum und MiRbrauch yon A[kohol, [[legalen Drogen und
Tabakwaren dutch junge Menschen in Nordthein-Westfalen, yon
lnfratest-C, esundheits-Forschung, im Auftrag des MAC (Ministerium
f6r Arbeit, Gesundheit und Sozia|es NRW, 1967).
And other figures demonstrate a dramatic drop in West German
children smoking during the years 1973-1990.
Smokers (permanent and occasional)*
1973 1990
14-17 years 57% 32,%
14-25 years 58% 48%
"Source: Bundeszentrale f6r gesundheitliche AufkJ/irung: Die
Entwicklung der Drogenaffin;it Jungerlicher, 1990.
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

Great Britain
The Office of Population Censuses and Surveys (OPCS) figures
clearly demonstrate the large fall in the percentage of school
children smoking cigarettes in England, Scotland and Wales.
Overall, this has been at a faster rate than among the adult
British population, despite the continuation of tobacco
advertising during the period ]984 to 1990.
Percentage Smoking Cigarettes*
1984 1990 ~ Change
England Boys and Girls
11-15 years 22,% I6~ -27
Wales Boys and Girls
11-15 years 17% 15% -12
Scotland Boys and Gifts
11-15 years 24,% 20~ -17
All Adults
16 years + 34% 30% -12
"Source: Boys/Girls figures: "Smoking Among Secondary School
Children in 1990" OPCS, 19SI. Adult figures: General Household
Survey "Cigarette Smoking 1972-1990" OPC,.S monitor. 26 November
1991.
The World Health Organisation found, in a 1986 survey, that
there were "no systematic differences" between juvenile smoking
in countries with advertising bans (Finland, Norway) and those
without (UK, Austria).
Three surveys carried out by the Children's Research Unit
(CRU) in 1989 and published by the International Advertising
Association, all show that smoking incidence among juveniles
is higher in many places where advertising is banned than
where it is not.
In other cases, the incidence of juvenile smoking is found to be
virtually identical in both situations.
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

CONCLUSIONS
Evidence does not support the claim that advertising
encourages children to smoke.
The evidence indicates that factors other than tobacco
advertising determine the degree of smoking by young
people and adults alike.
A wealth of independent research has shown there is no
connection between advertising and overall tobacco
consumption.
In the absence of evidence, an EC advertising ban is not
justified. Moreover, such a ban would not comply with the
principle of proportionaliO,,.
An advertising ban in the EC would not lead to a general
reduction in smoking.
The perceived need to control tobacco communication is
better answered at national level through voluntary
agreements which are manifestly more flexible and acceptable.
Moreover, such an approach is in line ~ith the principle of
subsidiarity.
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999

THE CONFEDERATION OF EUROPEAN COMMUNITY
CIGARETTE MANUFACTURERS LIMITED (CECCM)
Activities
Consultant', co-ordination and represemation on members' behalf
in connection with all aspec:s oi EC public altars.
Corporate Members
British-American Tobacca Co. Ltd.
Gailaher Ltd.
Imve.-.ai Tobacco Led.
PhiliE" Morris Europe $.A.
Reemtsma C~caret:entabnken G.m.b.H.
R. J. Reynolds'Tobacco International. Inc.
Rothmans l:',:emational Tobacco Lid.
National Manufacturers' Association Members
F~derat~on Belgo-Luxembourgeoise d~ Industries du Tabac
Tobaksindusmen
Co.Pcptha ,~cn
Verband ,~er Cigarettenindustne
~o,m ! V,tCJ
Verband tier Deu:schen Rauchtabakindustne
5’mn (VdRI
Hellenic Assooanon of European Tobacco Companies
AF:ens IE._.K.E.E.J
Groupement de FournLcseurs Communautaires de Cigarettes
P.~.:s ~G.F.C.C.~
]fish Tobacco Manu."acrurers' AdvisoP,." Committee
D:,blm flTMACs
Centro di Documentazlone Informazione sul Tabacco
.:'dan tC.D.I.T.J
Stichtinc ~igarrettenindustvie
~;c Ha,quc ~S.S.I.~
Verenigmg Nederiandse Kerftabakindustrie
T;:c Hague ’ VNKJ
Tobacco Advisorv Council
L:.:dan ’T..4..C.;
Chairman: Mr[ Xl Lepere
Chairman's Office
120 Pembroke Road
Dublin 4, Ireland
Tel: (01) 601 576 & (01) 681 62.~
Fax: (01) 606 ~4
Telex: 91824 CECM-E]
Brussels Liaison Office
] ) Avenue de La .[oyeuse Entree (3rd Floor)
104{3 Brussels, Belgium
Tel: (02.~ 231 1731 & (02) 231 1797
Fax: (02) ~1 1721
Telex: ~4717 CECCM-B
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BatCo document for PFSFC 1 March 1999
