Stanford University Medical School researchers recently conducted a survey in which they found that point-of-sale tobacco advertising greatly influences teenagers' desire and willingness to smoke. According to the survey, teenagers who frequent establishments where this type of advertising exists are more than twice as likely to try smoking than those who do not visit them.

More than 2,000 teenagers between the ages of 11 and 14 years old participated in the survey, which recently appeared in the journal Pediatrics. Experts believe the study is a major eye-opener into the effects of direct tobacco advertising on young people.

"The tobacco industry argues the purpose of advertising is to encourage smokers to switch brands, but this shows that advertising encourages teenagers to pick up a deadly habit," explained Lisa Henriksen, a senior research scientist at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, and author of the study.

Henriksen also laments the number of cigarette ads present on objects in and around convenience stores located near schools. Trash cans, clocks, floor mats, cardboard displays, and other forms of advertising are all used in stores where many young people shop, and Henriksen and her team believe this type of advertising needs to stop.

For more than a decade, cigarette use among teens has dropped significantly, from 36.4 percent of high school students in 1997, to 19.5 percent of high school students in 2009. But experts are concerned that the rate of decrease is beginning to slow, and that something must be done.

"The train won't continue downhill without further action. Regulating retail marketing would be ideal for smoking prevention," believes Henriksen.

According to Connie Bennett and Stephen T. Sinatra, M.D., author of the book Sugar Shock!: How Sweets and Simple Carbs Can Derail Your Life -- and How You Can Get Back on Track, tobacco companies also lure young people into a habit of smoking by adding sugar components to cigarettes to make them more "candylike".

"It's easy to get children to smoke cigarettes because the taste approaches sweetness," it explains.

Top Contributors

Mehran Ali

University Of Management And Technology Umt Lahore

249 Articles

KiranNasir

171 Articles

Farah

79 Articles

Ammara Ghous

61 Articles

M Abid Ayub

Punjab University PU Lahore

57 Articles

Jawairia Chaudary

PUCIT Lahore

56 Articles

 

Share your comments questions here
Sort By:
X

Sign in

to continue to ilmkidunya.com

inquiry-image

Free Admission Advice

Fill the form. Our admission consultants will call you with admission options.

Most Popular Articles

Role of media in Pakistan
  • Date: 12/May/2012
  • Category: Education
14 August , Independence Day of Pakistan
  • Date: 13/Aug/2014
  • Category: Education
Students' problems in Pakistan
  • Date: 15/May/2012
  • Category: Education
Best and Correct Key Book Math’s Class 9 (PTB)
  • Date: 17/Feb/2016
  • Category: Education
The Great Blessings of the Holy Month of Ramadan
  • Date: 10/Jul/2012
  • Category: Education
Allama Iqbal and Ideology of Pakistan
  • Date: 02/Nov/2015
  • Category: Education
Punjab Education Ministry Announces The Matric And Inter Final Result Schedules For All Boards Of Education
  • Date: 23/Sep/2021
  • Category: Education
Major Problems Facing Pakistan Today
  • Date: 28/Oct/2014
  • Category: Education