By
Nicole Martins, WellFlorida Council Intern
Perhaps the most frightening aspects
of Big Tobacco, besides the well-documented effects of nicotine addiction, are
its emerging tobacco products. At the 6th Annual Rural Tobacco
Summit, Barry Hummel, Jr., MD, presented tobacco marketing tactics and product
lines that are targeted toward youth.
“Tobacco is a gateway drug and a
gateway behavior,” said Hummel, co-founder of the Quit Doc Research and
Education Foundation. “[Tobacco] is the first drug that teens can access
easily. The tobacco industry knows this, and deliberately targets youth with
products and marketing.”
Flavored candy cigarettes
popularized in the 1950s served to normalize the behavior of smoking and
familiarize children with cigarette packaging and mannerisms. In the early
2000s, the introduction of flavored tobacco cigarettes from brands like Camel
had deceptive, candy-like packaging.
“Buyers and sellers don’t know what
product is inside,” Hummel said. “They became a point of entry for kids.”
In 2009, the Family Smoking
Prevention and Tobacco Control Act was signed into law and the FDA banned the
sale of flavored tobacco products (with the exception of menthol). The FDA,
however, does not regulate cigars. As a result, cigarette companies repackaged products
to resemble cigars to be exempt from the “flavor” rule. Flavored cigars
continue to be very popular among smokers. Flavored smokeless tobacco is also
currently being market tested in candy-like packaging. Hookah and e-cigarettes
have also adapted flavors to increase their appeal to young smokers. According
to the 2012 Florida Youth Tobacco Survey, over 59 percent of youth tobacco
users in the state are using flavored tobacco.
E-cigarette companies have begun to
market themselves as the alternative to tobacco cigarettes. Ads ask, “Why
Quit?” and list indoor places were people can still smoke with their products.
“E-cigarettes
are marketed as safe, creating harmless water vapor,” which Hummel said is
simply not the case. The products typically contain nicotine and are not safe
for youth or adult consumption.
Many
countries have banned their sale including Australia, Canada and Brazil. High
school use throughout the U.S., on the other hand, has doubled within the past
2 years. Its prevalence in convenience stores and advertisements throughout the
U.S. have led to a youth perception of tobacco use that is greater than
reality, Hummel said. He performed a study with Martin County middle school
students asking them to predict tobacco usage in the U.S. The students guessed
that 61 percent of adults are smokers and the actual statistic is 20 percent.
Age
disparity between legal tobacco and alcohol use makes these products more
attractive to college students and young adults. Teenagers can legally buy
tobacco products at the age of 18 whereas the age limit on alcohol is 21.
“E-cigarettes
and hookahs are the two biggest threats,” Hummel said.
The
summit, sponsored by Suwannee River AHEC, LakeShore Hospital and NorthCentral Florida Cancer Control Collaborative
(NCFCCC), was
held in April 2014. Oversight and leadership of NCFCCC is provided by
WellFlorida Council.
