Big Tobacco has known the power of the media for decades and has a long history with the entertainment industry. The tobacco industry uses tobacco imagery and brand identification on screen to both normalize and glamorize tobacco use.
Teens consume more media than ever
Teens watch an average of almost 11 hours of media on any given day. The media youth consume is often completely unregulated, giving the tobacco industry direct access to teens’ daily lives.
The tobacco industry uses the media to target youth by having their favorite actors and actresses light up on both television and movie screens. Research shows that the more smoking youth see on screen, the more likely they are to start smoking. Giving movies with smoking in them an R rating can protect youth from influential tobacco industry.
You can get involved by signing a petition to remove smoking from youth-rated movies.
Internet marketing
As teens spend more and more time on the web, Big Tobacco spends more and more cash on internet marketing. There are currently no state or federal laws regulating how the tobacco industry markets on the web. This gives the industry free range to target youth in new covert ways through buzz/viral marketing.
Anonymous posting
With anonymous posting as easy as the click of a mouse, the tobacco industry can easily claim innocence while recruiting new replacement smokers for the 1200 Americans they lose daily to tobacco related illnesses.
De-glamorize tobacco
Reality Check aims to expose the tobacco industry and de-normalize and de-glamorize tobacco use on screen. Interested in becoming part of Reality Check and creating a tobacco-free generation?
Contact Abigail Clark, Reality Check Coordinator
at (585) 484-1503 or abigail.clark@lung.org
It has been a known statistic that the black community has been disproportionately affected by smoking and Big Tobacco. This is something that American Lung Assocation and TACFL tries to bring awareness to. It is a perfect time bring awareness to the issue as we are at the beginning of Black History Month.Here are a couple of staggering facts about smoking and the Black community.
-Despite historically starting later and smoking fewer cigarettes per day than white Americans, Black Americans are more likely to be diagnosed with and more likely to die from tobacco-related cancer.
-Black men are more likely to develop and more likely to die from lung cancer than their white counterparts.
For #BlackHistoryMonth, we ask that you join us in urging President Biden to finish the rules to end menthol cigarette and flavored cigar sales in the U.S. at a.lung.org/ZgMuHgD. ... See MoreSee Less
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Timeline photosAre you struggling to stay quit? Make time every #QuitMonday to check in on your progress and use our Weekly Check-in Tool to find resources to help you stay motivated no matter what stage of quitting smoking you're in. Try the free tool at: ow.ly/TUfk50MwcCi ... See MoreSee Less
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The American Lung Assocation continues to implement and provide some fantastic tobacco cessation programs. Not on Tobacco (NOT) and Freedom From Smoking are two examples, alongside the newly launched ACT youth focused cessation training. Check out the post below from American Lung Association or our most previous post for more great information on those programs.Go Tobacco-Free in ‘23! We offer resources to help adults and teens to quit all tobacco products.
Freedom From Smoking: Helps individuals create their own quit plan while as providing tips and techniques to stay successful in the long run. on.lung.org/2XpL71A
Not-On-Tobacco® (N-O-T) is a teen smoking/chewing/vaping cessation program for teens who want to quit. on.lung.org/39vJked ... See MoreSee Less
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