To The Tobacco Manufacturer (Entry 3)

Dear Tobacco Manufacturer

            Tobacco for kids (TFK) has discovered numerous advertisements that have passed legislation which should be considered for re-evaluation. From the TFK advertisement gallery, I have stumbled onto two Camel SNUS advertisements that best cater to the teenage demographic; Break Free and Can’t Believe. I believe these two advertisements are targeting teenagers because from my evaluation the “Break Free” campaign, I think these two advertisements exemplifies freedom and adventure, which are notable ambitions of teenagers. The Can’t Believe advertisement shows an individual holding a ticket that says “ I Can’t Believe I was there: Begins Here”, this message can attract teenage consumers by promoting this demographic to starting their smoking life and it also characterizes their road to adulthood. The “Break Free” guitar advertisement can attract teenager consumers mainly for its creativity, as the this piece shows a font, colour and graphic style that appeals to the teenagers. Apart from the advertisements creative approach, the meaning behind “Break Free” from this advertisement is that smokers can feel energized and excited when smoking Camel SNUS. Feeling energized and excited are two notable characteristics of teenagers therefore the “Break Free” message in this advertisement will cater well to the teenage demographic.

           

            Especially within Canada where the number of teenage smokers have declined since 1985, these two advertisements should not have passed legislation with Camel SNUS because these particular advertisements are well designed to target teenagers. Since 2012, Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey has stated that only 16% of Canadian teenagers are smoking (Health Canada, 2013). The 16% of Canadian teens that smoke either were effected by word-of-mouth or by the influence of these advertisements (Health Canada, 2013). If these teenagers were tempted to smoke through the influence of these advertisement campaigns, then I believe these advertisements should not have passed the law. Another issue with these two advertisements is that Camel SNUS did not show the negative effects of smoking tobacco in their campaigns. Without showing the campaigns, these advertisements can further influence teenagers to smoke as this demographic will not be affected by any horrific visuals. Canada is well respected for its promotion on health care therefore therefore the tobacco industry should not pass these advertisements as the promotion of smoking habits will be detrimental to the country’s healthcare system.