April 2010 Archives

International public health advocates are calling on U.S. singing star and American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson to withdraw tobacco industry sponsorship of her April 29 concert in Jakarta, Indonesia. Health advocates expressed alarm that the concert and associated advertising are being used to promote cigarettes to Indonesian youth.

Clarkson has not responded to letters and online fan requests urging her to withdraw tobacco industry sponsorship of the concert. The Indonesian National Commission on Child Protection, the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) and the U.S.-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids have all urged Clarkson to withdraw tobacco sponsorship of the concert.

The concert is being sponsored and heavily promoted by the tobacco company PT Djarum under the name of its cigarette brand LA Lights. Television, billboard and online ads for the concert feature Clarkson's image and the LA Lights logo and even carry health warnings, making clear they are cigarette ads (for an ad image, go to www.tobaccofreekids.org/kellyclarkson).

"If Kelly Clarkson goes ahead with this concert, she is choosing to be a spokesperson for the tobacco industry and helping them to market cigarettes to children," said Matthew L. Myers, President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "If she rejects tobacco industry sponsorship, she can send a powerful message to children in Indonesia and around the world that they, too, should reject the tobacco industry's deadly products and marketing."

The tobacco industry has long used sponsorship of music concerts popular with young people to promote its products and tobacco use among youth. In the United States, a new federal law bans tobacco companies from engaging in brand name sponsorships of entertainment and sports events. Other countries have enacted similar bans.

However, in Indonesia and other developing countries, tobacco companies continue to sponsor concerts by famous musicians, a practice that health advocates have condemned as a means to market cigarettes to children and to circumvent restrictions on more traditional tobacco advertising. Indonesia is one of the few countries that has yet to ratify the international tobacco control treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires countries to ban all tobacco advertising, promotions and sponsorships.

In an April 8 letter, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids wrote, "We call on you to put the health of Indonesians first and require the withdrawal of PT Djarum's LA Lights sponsorship of this concert and any other tobacco sponsorship in your upcoming concert series in Asia. We also urge you to publicly announce that you will no longer allow PT Djarum or any other tobacco company to sponsor your concerts or promote their products through events in which you are participating."

A letter from SEATCA stated, "It is not too late to rectify the situation. We urge you to halt the tobacco sponsorship of your concert in Indonesia and pull back all promotional materials for your concert that carries the L.A. Lights brand. It is important that you and your music are not associated with cigarettes and ill health."

Clarkson's fans around the world, including Indonesia, have also expressed their disapproval of the tobacco sponsorship. Fans have posted hundreds of messages on Clarkson's Facebook fan page urging her to renounce the sponsorship and sent more than 1,300 e-mails to Clarkson's management.

Clarkson can look to singing star Alicia Keys as an example of how to effectively stop the tobacco industry from using internationally renowned artists as a marketing tool. In July 2008, Keys' Jakarta concert was initially sponsored by "A Mild" cigarettes, which is produced by Philip Morris International and its Indonesian subsidiary Sampoerna. When this was brought to her attention, Keys withdrew tobacco sponsorship of the concert and had related advertising removed.

About 35 percent of the Indonesian population smokes, and tobacco use kills more than 200,000 Indonesians each year. An estimated 78 percent of Indonesian smokers started before the age of 19.

The letters to Kelly Clarkson can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org/kellyclarkson.

The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is a leading force in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences in the United States and around the world. The Campaign advocates for proven policies that prevent kids from smoking, help smokers quit and protect everyone from secondhand smoke.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

We applaud the U.S. Navy for acting to protect sailors' health by adopting a new policy that bans smoking below decks aboard all Navy submarines. This policy recognizes that secondhand smoke is a serious, scientifically proven threat to human health, and no one should be exposed to it in the workplace, including the men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces.  This policy will improve the health of all sailors aboard submarines and sends a powerful message that all workplaces should be smoke-free.

The Navy has also taken another important and necessary step to protect sailors' health by providing smoking cessation medication and support programs to sailors on every boat.  Nicotine is highly addictive, and smokers often make several attempts before they succeed in quitting. By making smoking cessation medication and support programs widely available, the Navy will help more smoking personnel to quit and reap both immediate and long-term benefits to their health.

Background on Secondhand Smoke and Smoke-Free Laws

The need for protection from secondhand smoke in all workplaces and public places has never been clearer. In issuing a groundbreaking report on secondhand smoke in June 2006, U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona stated, "The debate is over. The science is clear: Secondhand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard that causes premature death and disease in children and nonsmoking adults."

Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including at least 69 carcinogens. The Surgeon General found that secondhand smoke is a proven cause of lung cancer, heart disease, serious respiratory illnesses such as bronchitis and asthma, low birth weight and sudden infant death syndrome. The Surgeon General also found that secondhand smoke is responsible for tens of thousands of deaths in the United States each year, there is no safe level of exposure, and only smoke-free laws provide effective protection from secondhand smoke.  A report released last year by the Institute of Medicine concluded that secondhand smoke causes heart attacks while smoke-free laws prevent them.

In the U.S., 28 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and hundreds of cities and counties have passed smoke-free laws that cover restaurants and bars. The states are Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas (effective July 1, 2010), Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan (May 1, 2010), Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin (July 5, 2010).

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

2010 marks the ten-year anniversary of the country's most successful youth smoking prevention campaign -- truth®.  In the past decade, the truth® campaign has kept hundreds of thousands of teens from smoking, protecting them from years of addiction and tobacco-related disease and saving countless lives.

The campaign is directed and funded by Legacy, a national public health foundation with the dual mission of keeping young people from smoking and helping all smokers quit. Over the past decade, the campaign has:

• Seen a growing body of research illustrate the efficacy of the campaign in saving lives by keeping teens from starting to smoke.  Research published in the April 2009 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that truth® is responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke between 2000-2004. A second study published in that same journal in April 2009 found that the campaign not only paid for itself in its first two years, but also saved between $1.9 and $5.4 billion in medical care costs to society.
• Become a summer concert institution through a grassroots tour. Traveling with the VANS Warped Tour for ten summers, truth® brand ambassadors have connected personally with more than five million teens with anti-tobacco messages.
• Successfully prevailed in the court of law after a nearly six-year lawsuit with a tobacco company regarding the content of select truth® advertisements.
• Produced groundbreaking and highly-lauded advertising, winning more than 400 awards, including Emmys, ADDYs, Clios and a Grand Effie.

"Looking back over the accomplishments of the truth® campaign in the last decade reveals a host of milestones in the fight for a healthier America, by reducing the impact of tobacco on our teens," said Cheryl G. Healton, DrPH, President and CEO of Legacy.  "truth® has become an iconic part of teen popular culture by not compromising on the idea that teens appreciate being asked to make their own, informed decisions and not being told what to do. Of course, the way in which truth® presents information has been, and will continue to be provocative because that is what teens most at risk of smoking respond to best."

The campaign was born out of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between three of the largest tobacco companies, and 46 states and five U.S. territories. Funds from the MSA were directed to create a national public health organization devoted to helping adults who want to quit and keeping teens from starting. Foundation leaders, partners and an expert panel funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention looked to the latest social science, marketing and public health research - along with the State of Florida's successful truth® youth smoking campaign -- to expand the truth® campaign and bring it to a national audience. 

"With truth®, we knew that preaching to kids about not smoking wouldn't work," said Pete Favat, Chief Creative Officer at Arnold Worldwide, Legacy's advertising partner.  "So we wanted to do something different. We set out to harness teenage rebellion and make an intangible thing like

'anti-smoking' into a tangible brand. To have youth communicate to other youth about the real, unfiltered facts involving cigarettes and the manipulative tobacco industry. Then kids could make up their own minds about smoking.  It's been a lot of work and a great partnership over the years and it's been exciting to see how the campaign has evolved.  But most importantly we're so proud of the way truth® has been able to impact teenager's lives in such a positive and meaningful way."

truth® is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking - allowing teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products. It is designed to engage teens by exposing Big Tobacco's marketing and manufacturing practices, as well as highlighting the toll of tobacco in relevant and innovative ways.

truth® remains a multi-channel, constantly evolving campaign. From its beginnings in iconic television ads, the campaign has also included radio, print and cinema advertising. Over the decade, the campaign has had an increasingly comprehensive online presence, and an experiential presence via a popular summer tour. All efforts are focused directly to teens that are most likely to smoke and need information most.

In its ten years, truth® has had 3 distinct phases, as the campaign's audience has "migrated", and outreach efforts reflect that:

• traditional advertising: TV spots, truth® ads in print publications popular with teens, and radio.
• traditional advertising to online: In response, the campaign boosted its interactive presence, built social networking profiles, and continues to grow and build a robust Web site with polls, games, interactive activities, video, etc
• online to experiential - Responding to an audience that is creating its own content and looking for further engagement with brands and campaigns, the truth® tour will take on an even more central role in the years to come, and the truth® "experience" will be enhanced further through engaging content and integrations.

While campaign funds have been in decline since 2003, Legacy has evolved the campaign to extend the truth® message in even more efficient and cost-effective ways. Partnerships with like-minded brands, such as MTV, Virgin Mobile, fuse and fuel extended the campaign's reach and provided value-added opportunities. Grant funding from such partners as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed the campaign to grow its presence in many smaller and rural communities throughout the nation. In addition, campaign managers constantly assess the media channels used by the campaign and its creative approach to make sure truth® continues to hit teens with relevant messages in relevant mediums.

While ten years ago much of truth®'s efforts were focused around traditional advertising, with iconic TV spots like Body Bags putting truth® on the map and highly-visible with teens, significant changes in media tools and consumption with the teen audience over the last decade has driven routine shifts in strategy to embrace other marketing tools. To meet these challenges, truth® continues to look beyond traditional means and the 30-second spot.

"With the campaign now facing a funding cliff and the tobacco industry spending approximately $34 million per day on marketing, truth® will continue to work hard to reach teens and help them make informed decisions about tobacco use," said Dr. Benjamin Chu, chairman of the Legacy Board of Directors. "As we enter the next decade, the landscape around youth marketing continues to shift, presenting both opportunities and challenges.  Digital media will continue to be the driving force for engagement with teens, message distribution, and for fundraising with audiences beyond the core audience.  The truth® campaign has recognized these trends and will continue to embrace new methods of youth engagement."

To learn more about highlights from the last ten years of truth®, please visit: http://www.legacyforhealth.org/truthnews.aspx

BACKGROUND ON THE truth® CAMPAIGN

truth®, launched in February 2000, is the largest national youth smoking prevention campaign and the only national campaign not directed by the tobacco industry. The campaign exposes the tactics of the tobacco industry, the truth about addiction, and the health effects and social consequences of smoking.  truth® allows teens to make informed choices about tobacco use by giving them the facts about the industry and its products. The campaign was created by Legacy and its partners, Arnold Worldwide of Boston (2000-present), and Crispin Porter + Bogusky of Miami (2000-2007).

Legacy is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the national public health organization helps Americans live longer, healthier lives.  Legacy develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns.  The foundation's programs include truth®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as having contributed to significant declines in youth smoking; EX®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; and research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use.  The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit www.legacyforhealth.org.

The following is a statement of Matthew L. Myers, President, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:

President  Obama continued his strong leadership in the fight against tobacco use today when he signed the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act (PACT), which will curb tax evasion and curtail the growing sales of low-cost cigarettes and other tobacco products over the Internet and through the mail.

Enactment of this legislation is a milestone in the fight to keep kids from smoking and prevent tax evasion that costs taxpayers billions each year. Internet sales of tobacco products are a serious and growing problem that illegally keeps prices down and smoking levels up. Such sales also make it easier and cheaper for kids to buy cigarettes and facilitate tax evasion. Many vendors that sell cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products over the Internet or through other mail-order sales do not pay applicable tobacco taxes and do not have sufficient safeguards to prevent sales to children, such as effective policies to verify a purchaser's age.

Both houses of Congress approved the legislation with wide, bipartisan support earlier this month. We applaud Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY), the chief House sponsor, and Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI), the Senate sponsor, for their leadership and persistence in pursuing this legislation and winning its approval.

We thank President Obama for continuing to display strong and consistent leadership in the fight against tobacco use, the leading preventable cause of death in the United States.  The President has also signed legislation increasing the federal cigarette tax to fund expansion of children's health insurance and the landmark law giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate tobacco products and marketing. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 already has led to restrictions on tobacco marketing and sales to kids.

The newly enacted PACT Act will:

• Require Internet sellers to pay all federal, state, local or Tribal tobacco taxes and affix tax stamps before delivery to any customer;
• Mandate that the age and identification of purchasers be checked at purchase and at delivery;
• Require Internet vendors to comply with state and local laws as if they were located in the same state as their customers;
• Provide federal and state enforcement officials with new tools to block delivery of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products that evade federal or state laws; and
• Ban the delivery of tobacco products through the U.S. mail.

Summary of the PACT Act: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/pdf/0361.pdf.

More on Internet tobacco sales: http://www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/internet/.

SOURCE Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids