Cigarette Advertising Essay Research Paper The issue

Cigarette Advertising Essay, Research Paper

The issue of cigarette advertising has been controversial for many years. Recently, opponents of cigarette advertising, believing that the ads encourage young people to take up smoking, have called for stronger governmental controls. Proponents claim that a product that is lawful to produce, sell, and consume has every right to be advertised. This article examines recent research on the effects of cigarette advertising and shows that there is no evidence to support the belief that cigarette ads encourage people to take up smoking.

Background

Up until 1970, cigarettes had been advertised like other consumer products, but health concerns led to a government-imposed ban on broadcast advertising. More recent announcements from the Surgeon General have stated that smoking is not only harmful to one’s health but also addictive. This combination of factors has spurred antismoking activists to call for a complete ban on cigarette advertising.

Tobacco companies have responded by claiming that cigarette ads do not create primary demand or encourage increased smoking. These companies also argue that a total ban on cigarette advertising would be unconstitutional.

A good deal of research has been done on the effects of cigarette advertising, and the studies fell into two categories: statistical and perceptual. The statistical studies used econometric analyses to identify factors that significantly affected cigarette sales over a fixed period of time. The perceptual studies used a variety of methods to determine how cigarette ads affected readers’ opinions about smokers and smoking.

These studies all showed that cigarette advertising does have an impact on its audience, but none showed that ads created demand where none had existed or that ads encouraged smokers to consume more cigarettes.

Statistical Studies

Ten articles reporting on the findings of econometric analyses were examined. These reports shared basic elements. All compared cigarette and/or tobacco consumption against a variety of other variables, including total cigarette advertising expenditures, per capita income, average price for a pack of cigarettes, and health warnings. All used mathematical formulas to determine which variables proved (statistically) to significantly affect cigarette/tobacco consumption. Some articles differed in the type of formula used, but these provided additional depth to the investigation.

Four of these studies suggested that advertising does play a significant role in increasing cigarette sales. Leeflang & Reuijl (1985) examined the effects of advertising on cigarette sales in West Germany from 1960 to 1975. Their findings showed that ads had a positive effect on sales initially but became less important over time. They also found that the carryover effects of advertising had previously been over-estimated.

Two studies conducted in New Zealand also showed advertising’s positive effect on cigarette sales. Chetwynd, Coope, Brodie, & Wells (1988) reported on the effects of cigarette advertising from 1973 to 1985. They found that ads significantly affected sales on the quarterly level but became non-significant at the yearly level. Laugesen & Meads (1991) took the investigation a step farther. They looked at advertising’s effects on weekly cigarette sales. By focussing on a shorter time frame, the authors discovered that only ads for “downmarket” or low-cost brands positively affected cigarette sales.

In one study investigating the relationship between cigarette advertising expenditures and consumption in the United States from 1949 to 1985, Wilcox (1991) found that advertising positively affected sales for five of the ten brands studied. Later studies by Wilcox did not yield the same findings. Wilcox & Vacker (1992), studying the same variables but for the time period 1961 to 1990, reported no statistical significance for advertising. Looking at the same relationship in South Korea from 1988 to 1992, Wilcox, Tharp, & Yang (1994) again found no significant relationship between advertising and cigarette sales.

Yasin (1995) examined the effects of advertising on a variety of fast-moving consumer goods, including cigarettes, in England from 1986 to 1993. For cigarettes, the author found an advertising-to-sales ratio of 62% but market growth of only 4.3%. Every study that included the price of cigarettes and personal income as independent variables found them to be the most influential factors affecting sales. An increase in the price of cigarettes always resulted in decreased consumption while an increase in personal income always resulted in increased consumption.

Several studies found that consumers were willing to pay more for advertised cigarette brands. Yasin (1995) discovered that smokers would pay 21% more for the advertised brands than the generic store brands.

Abernathy &Teel (1986), studying the effects of advertising regulation on cigarette sales from 1949 to 1981, found that counter-advertising and health warnings reduced consumption more than manufacturer’s ads increased it.

Perceptual Studies

The 11 articles dealing with subjects’ beliefs about cigarette ads, smokers, and smoking each approached the issue from different angles. Descriptions of the most significant studies follow.

Внимание, отключите Adblock

Вы посетили наш сайт со включенным блокировщиком рекламы!
Ссылка для скачивания станет доступной сразу после отключения Adblock!

Скачать