Key tobacco industry documents related to youth smoking

It is important to know as much as possible about teenage smoking patterns and attitudes. Today's teenager is tomorrow's potential regular customer, and the overwhelming majority of smokers first begin to smoke while still in their teens. In addition, the ten years following the teenage years is the period during which average daily consumption per smoker increases to the average adult level.

Furthermore, it is during the teenage years that the initial brand choice is made.

We have recently completed a large scale survey of smoking by children in Great Britain which you are publishing as a research paper.

This is a definitive survey of smoking by children throughout the country and takes the place of the small studies among schools and other special groups, upon which conclusions had so far been based.

It is, of course, a definitive survey at one point of time, the Autumn and Winter of 1961, before the Royal College of Physicians had published their report, with the consequent publicity and the call for a drive against smoking by young people.

It will, therefore, be important to study the trend in smoking by children and young adults taking 1961 as the bench mark. It would. seem advisable to carry out this study from two aspects:

1. The change in smoking habits as children grow older, particularly in the three or four years before the age of fiftoen.
2. The change over time in the extent of smoking among children of the same age, for example smoking by children aged thirteen in 1961 and children of the same ago in 1963.

Children in their teens present a dilemma for the tobacco manufacturers. On the one hand you want to discourage children from smoking, a point you made quite clearly in your appendix to the report on Smoking and Health. You also presumably, in view of your long term interests, wish to encourage moderation among adolescents. On the other hand it is difficult for you to lend your weight to a campaign against smoking by young people without running the risk of discouraging them from taking up smoking altogether.

At the outset it should be said that we are presently, and I believe unfairly, constrained from directly promoting cigarettes to the youth market; that is, to those in the approximately twenty-one year old and under group. Statistics show, however, that large, perhaps even increasing, numbers in that group are becoming smokers each year, despite bans on-promotion of cigarettes to them. If this be so, there is certainly nothing immoral or unethical about our Company attempting to attract those smokers to our products. We should not in any way influence nonsmokers to start smoking; rather we should simply recognize that many or most of the "21 and under" group will inevitably become smokers, and offer them an opportunity to use our brands.

Realistically, if our Company is to survive and prosper, over the long term, we must get our share of the youth market.

THE IMPORTANCE OF YOUNGER ADULT SMOKERS

Younger adult smokers have been the critical factor in the growth and decline of every major brand and company over the last 50 years. They will continue to be just as important to brands companies in the future for two simple reasons:

• The renewal of the market stems almost entirely from 18-year-old smokers. No more than 5% of smokers start after age 24.
• The brand loyalty of 18-year-old smokers far outweighs any tendency to switch with age.

Younger adult smokers are critical to RJR's long term performance and profitability.

Younger adult smokers are the only source of replacement smokers.

Repeated government studies [...] have shown that:

• Less than one-third of smokers (31%) start after age 18.
• Only 5% of smokers start after age 24.

Thus, today's younger adult smoking behavior will largely determine the trend of Industry volume over the next several decades. If younger adults turn away from smoking, the Industry must decline, just as a population which does not give birth will eventually dwindle.

• YOUNGER ADULT SMOKERS ARE THE ONLY SOURCE OF REPLACEMENT SMOKERS. TODAY'S YOUNGER ADULT SMOKING BEHAVIOR WILL DETERMINE THE FUTURE TREND OF INDUSTRY VOLUME.
• LESS THAN 31% OF SMOKERS START AFTER AGE 18. ONLY 5% START AFTER AGE 24.

• DUE TO THEIR INCREASING CONSUMPTION, THE AGING OF LOYAL YOUNGER ADULT SMOKERS CREATES DISPROPORTIONATELY LARGE GAINS IN MARKET SHARE. SIMILAR GAINS DO NOT ACCRUE AMONG OLDER SMOKERS.

From time to time when describing market categories and target audiences we use references such as "young smokers, "young market," "youth market," etc.

These terms do not accurately describe what we are talking about. In the future when describing the low-age end of the cigarette business please use the term "young adult smoker" or "young adult smoking market."

Please advise all members of your department that these terms should he used in all written materials in the future.

We believe smokers to be much more alike than different insofar as their motivation to smoke is concerned. This is our thesis and the conviction underlying our current and projected research program. We believe that the confusion resides in the fact that the smoker, although aware of his response to smoke, is unable to report accurately the nature of his response. He is aware of a pleasurable inner state but beyond that he cannot characterize the state. He has trouble translating the somatic sensations into descriptive words. We believe that all smokers smoke for this vague but pleasant subjective experience; some call it a lift, some call it a relaxation....a rose by any other name is still a rose.

We share the conviction with others that it is the pharmacological effect of inhaled smoke which mediates the smoxing habit.

We have, then, as our first premise, that the primary motivation for smoking is to obtain the pharmacological effect of nicotine.

In the past we at R&D have said that we're not in the cigarette buisiness, we're in the smoke business. It might be more pointed to observe that the cigarette is the vehicle of smoke, smoke is the vehicle of nicotine, and nicotine is the agent of a pleasurable body response.

cigarette -> smoke -> nicotine -> body response

This primary incentive to smoking gets obscured by the overlay of secondary incentives, which have been superimposed upon the habit. Psychoanalysts have speculated about the importance of the sucking behavior, describing it as oraI regression. Psychologists have proposed that the smoker is projectig an ego-image with his puffing and his halo of smoke. One frequently hears "I have to have something to do with my hands" as a reason. All are perhaps operative motives, but we hold that none are adequate to sustain the habit in the absence of nicotine. In product tests, low nicotine cigarettes are repeatedly rejected in preference for higher levels. Intravenously injected nicotine was foundo to be an acceptable substitute for smoking, in a study with 35 smokers (Johnson, 1942).

We are not suggesting that the effect of nicotine is responsible for the initiation of the habit. To the contrary. The first cigarette is a noxious experience to the noviate. To account for the fact that the beginning smoker will tollerate the unpleasantness we must invoke a psychosocial motive. Smoking a cigarette for the beginner is a symbolic act. The smoker is telling his world, "This is the kind of person I am." Surely that there are many variants of the theme, "I am no longer my mother's child," "I am tough," "I am an adventuress," "I'm not a square." Whatever the individuaT intent, the act of smoking remains a symbolic declaration of personal identity. [...] As the force from the psychosocial symbolism subsides, the pharmacoliogical effect takes over to sustain the habit, augmented by the secondary gratifications.

As for the work with human subjects, interest has been focused largely upon the long term chronic effects of smoke exposure.

Without attempting at this point to establish anything about the relevance of the physiological response to the sought for "pleasure" in smoking, we list below those body changes which have been shown to occur upon inhaling smoke. It is generally accepted that nicotine is in all instances the responsible agent.

1. Increased pulse rate.
2. Increased cardiac output and coronary flow.
3. Vasoconstriction, in arms and legs.
4. Lowered skin temperature in hands and feet.
5. Adrenalin released into bloodstream.
6. Increased blood flow in skeletal musculature.
7. Reduction in patellar reflex magnitude.
8. Nerve impulse transmission facilitated through autonomic nervous system.
9. Arousal center in braim stem excited, causing arousal patterns in the electrical activity of the cortex.
10. Blood sugar level increases.

Realistically, if our Company is to survive and prosper, over the long term, we must get our share of the youth market. In my opinion this will require new brands tailored to the youth market; I believe it unrealistic to expect that existing brands identified with an over-thirty "establishment" market can ever become the "in" products with the youth group. Thus, we need new brands designed to be particularly attractive to the young smoker, while ideally at the same time being appealing to all smokers.

Several things will go to make up any such new "youth" brands, the most important of which may be the image and quality - which are, of course, interrelated. The questions then are: What image? and What quality? Perhaps these questions may best be approached by consideration of factors influencing pre-smokers to try smoking, learn to smoke and become confirmed smokers.

Table I attempts to define some of the more important effects expected or derived from cigarette smoking by pre-smokers, "learning" smokers and confirmed smokers. If this incomplete, subjective, simplistic analysis is even approximately correct, there are sharp, perhaps exploitable, differences between pre-smokers, "learners" and confirmed smokers in terms of what they expect or derive from smoking. Let us examine these differences.

For the pre-smoker and "learner" the physical effects of smoking are largely unknown, unneeded, or actually quite unpleasant or awkward. The expected or derived psychological effects are largely responsible for influencing the pre-smoker to try smoking, and provide sufficient motivation during the "learning" period to keep the "learner" going, despite the physical unpleasantness and awkwardness of the period.

In contrast, once the "learning" period is over, the physical effects become of overriding importance and desirability to the confirmed smoker, and the psychological effects, except the tension-relieving effect, largely wane in importance or disappear.

The common thread binding the three groups together appears to be the fact that smoking of cigarettes offers and provides a desired mechanism for coping with the stresses of living, which may range from boredom to high tension and from fatigue to high arousal and hyperactivity . Once this mechanism has been experienced and used, physical and psychological habit patterns are firmly established and become self-perpetuating.

Group Identification - Pre-smokers learn to smoke to identify with and participate in shared experiences of a group of associates. If the majority of ones closest associates smoke cigarettes, then there is strong psychological pressure, particularly on the young person, to identify with the group, follow the crowd, and avoid being out of phase with the group's value system even though, paradoxically, the group value system may esteem individuality. This provides a large incentive to begin smoking.

Self-Image Enhancement - The fragile, developing self-image of the young person needs all of the support and enhancement it can get. Smoking may appear to enhance that self-image in a variety of ways. If one values, for example, an adventurous, sophisticated, adult image, smoking may enhance ones self-image. If one values certain characteristics in specific individuals or types and those persons or types smoke, then if one also smokes he is psychologically a little more like the valued image. This self-image enhancement effect has traditionally been a strong promotional theme for cigarette brands and should continue to be emphasized.

Experimentation - There is a strong drive in most people, particularly the young, to try new things and experiences. This drive no doubt leads many pre-smokers to experiment with smoking, simply because it is there and they want to know more about it. A new brand offering something novel and different is likely to attract experimenters, young and old, and if it offers an advantage it is likely to retain these users.

There is another psychological factor which did not readily fall into Table I, but which may be quite important. That category might be called "Anti-Establishment Attitudes". It does not enter into the decision to start smoking but may strongly influence the brand chosen. Today more than ever, young people tend to reject whatever is accepted by the "over-thirty" establishment, which includes their parents.

A final psychological factor which also did not fall readily into Table I involves smoking-health attitudes. The smoking-health controversy does not appear important to the group because, psychologically, at eighteen, one is immortal. Further, if the desire to be daring is part of the motivation to start smoking, the alleged risk of smoking may actually make smoking attractive. Finally, if the "older" establishment is preaching against smoking, the anti-establishment sentiment discussed above would cause the young to want to be defiant and smoke. Thus, a new brand aimed at the young group should not in any way be promoted as a "health" brand, and perhaps should carry some implied risk. In this sense the warning label on the package may be a plus.

Ideally, the [brand] name chosen should have a double meaning; that is, one desirable connotation in "straight" language and another in the jargon of youth. A current example may be Kool, which reads on "cool" cat in youth jargon, and also literally connotes a refreshing physical sensation. Another way of approaching the name or image would be to choose one which evokes different but desirable responses from different age groups.

Before proceeding too far in the direction of design of dosage forms for nicotine, it may be well to consider another aspect of our business; that is, the factors which induce a pre-smoker or non-smoker to become a habituated smoker. Paradoxically, the things which keep a confirmed smoker habituated and "satisfied", i.e., nicotine and secondary physical and manipulative gratifications, are unknown and/or largely unexplained to the non-smoker. He does not start smoking to obtain undefined physiological gratifications or reliefs, and certainly he does not start to smoke to satisfy a non-existent craving for nicotine. Rather, he appears to start to smoke for purely psychological reasons -- to emulate a valued image, to conform, to experiment, to defy, to be daring, to have something to do with his hands, and the like. Only after experiencing smoking for some period of time do the physiological "satisfactions" and habituation become apparent and needed. Indeed, the first smoking experiences are often unpleasant until a tolerance for nicotine has been developed. This leaves us, then, in the position of attempting to design and promote the same product to two different types of market with two different sets of motivations, needs and expectations. The same situation is encountered in some industries, but the problem is usually not as severe.

If what we have said about the habituated smoker is true, then products designed for him should emphasize nicotine, nicotine delivery efficiency, nicotine satisfaction, and the like. What we should really make and sell would be the proper dosage form of nicotine with as many other built-in attractions and gratifications as possible -- that is, an efficient nicotine delivery system with satisfactory flavor, mildness, convenience, cost, etc. On the other hand, if we are to attract the non-smoker or pre-smoker, there is nothing in this type of product that he would currently understand or desire. We have deliberately played down the role of nicotine, hence the non-smoker has little or no knowledge of what satisfactions it may offer him, and no desire to try it. Instead, we somehow must convince him with wholly irrational reasons that he should try smoking, in the hope that he will for himself then discover the real "satisfactions" obtainable. And, of course, in the present advertising climate, our opportunities to talk to the pre-smoker are increasingly limited, and therefore,increasingly ineffective.

SEGMENTATION WITHIN THE 18-24 YEAR OLD SMOKER GROUP

• FUBYAS ARE NOT ONE HOMOGENEOUS GROUP
• THEY ARE SEGMENTED INTO DIFFERENT SOCIAL GROUPS FROM WHICH THEY DRAW THEIR IDENTITY
• THESE GROUPS REFLECT MINDSETS TOWARD DEALING WITH LIFE/WITH PERSONAL WANTS. CUES AND SYMBOLS OF EACH GROUP ARE REPRESENTED IN:
  • ACTIVITIES
  • MUSIC
  • DRESS
  • PRODUCT/BRAND SELECTION

PSYCHOGRAPHIC PROFILE

• [FUBYAS ARE] IN A "STAGE OF TRANSITION" - THEY HAVE LEFT THE FAMILY NEST (SECURITY) BUT HAVE NOT FULLY ACCEPTED THE ADULT WORLD (INSECURITY).
• ARE UNIVERSALLY SELF-CONSCIOUS AND INSECURE IN ADAPTING TO THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF ADULTHOOD. THEY ARE PRE-OCCUPIED WITH PRESENTING AN IMAGE OF:
  • SOCIAL EXPERTISE AND INDIVIDUALITY WITHIN THE LIMITS OF THE YOUNGER ADULT SUBCULTURE.
  • SELF-DETERMINATION, CONTROL, AND INDEPENDENCE.
• MAJOR INNER CONFLICT STEMS FROM TWO DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED NEEDS:
  • NEED TO BE INDIVIDUAL AND STAND OUT.
  • NEED FOR PEER ACCEPTANCE, TO BELONG, TO FIT IN.
  THESE OPPOSING NEEDS ARE PARTIALLY FILLED BY BELONGING AND CONFORMING TO A GROUP THAT IS SET APART FROM OTHER GROUPS.

The desire to fit in with a particular crowd is often said to prompt the smoking decision. At these ages, every generation has a spectrum of about 5-6 groups, each of which has a unified approach to life. Each group adopts a way of dressing and talking, our kind of music, and other cues and symbols of their common ground. Smoking is one of these cues. (Goody Goody s; Preps; Rockers; Punkers; Burnouts)

...after initiation to smoking has been mediated by various psychosocial motives, the pharmacological effects of nicotine take over as prime reinforcers.

There is a general consensus that the motivating factors mediating the onset of the smoking habit are distinct from those factors maintaining the habit.

Evans, Henderson, Hill and Raines' (1979) review of the psychological factors reveals that smoking in children is related to lower levels of perceived (and real) academic achievement, to rebelliousness, anti-authority behavior, low self-esteem and that children who begin to smoke at an earlier age show a higher rate of sensation-seeking behaviors than non smoking peers.

The reasons most people give for their first experiments with smoking are curiosity, conformity, bravado or to appear grown-up (Horn, Courts, Taylor and Solomom,1959). The first cigarette is almost invariably unpleasant. Nearly everyone has experienced the shock of the first inhalation, often accompanied by gagging and nauseousness - a physiological response which presumably has a pharmacological basis. On the other hand, nearly everyone who has continued smoking more cigarettes can recall the pleasantness of the light-headedness which followed inhalation, a sensory experience that could be made to recur following a brief time lapse between cigarettes. Tolerance is said to develop to the unpleasant side-effects and skill is quickly acquired to limit the intake of smoke to a comfortable level, thus lowering the threshold for further attempts. Herein lies a possible cause of the virtual inevitability of escalation after only a few cigarettes (Russell, 1971). With curiosity satisfied by the first cigarette, the act is likely to be repeated only if the physical discomfort is outweighed by the rewards of smoking. If these motives are sufficient to cause smoking to be repeated in the face of unpleasant side-effects, there is little chance that smoking will not continue as these side effects rapidly disappear.

To ensure increased and longer-term growth for CAMEL FILTER, the brand must increase its share penetration among the 14-24 age group which have a new set of more liberal values and which represent tomorrow's cigarette business.

4-8% of smokers switch brands per year. Much of this switching tends to be random noise, with little net effect on shares for most brands.

The desire to fit in with a particular crowd is often said to prompt the smoking decision. At these ages, every generation has a spectrum of about 5-6 groups, each of which has a unified approach to life. Each group adopts a way of dressing and talking, our kind of music, and other cues and symbols of their common ground. Smoking is one of these cues. (Goody Goody s; Preps; Rockers; Punkers; Burnouts)

1. IDENTIFIED HISTORICAL (HIGH SCHOOL AGE) GROUPS:

   	-- THE INTELLECTUALS	:	THE BOOKWORMS, ALWAYS STUDYING, PLANNED TO GO TO COLLEGE, NONSMOKERS
   	-- THE JOCKS	:	ATHLETIC, POPULAR, PARTY-GOERS, ABOUT HALF SMOKED, MARLBORO POPULAR BRAND
   	-- THE DELINQUENTS	:	MISFITS, REBELS, CAUSED LOT OF TROUBLE, ALL SMOKED HEAVILY, LEATHER JACKETS
   	-- THE PRIM & PROPERS	:	THE "GOODY-GOODIES," NEVER IN ANY TROUBLE BECAUSE THEY NEVER DID ANYTHING, WOULD NOT THINK OF SMOKING

DIFFERENTIATING WITHIN THE FUBYAS GROUP

1. FUBYAS ARE NOT ONE HOMOGENEOUS GROUP
2. THIS IS GOOD NEWS, BECAUSE THEREIN LIES DIFFERENTIATION AND OPPORTUNITY
3. THE SEGMENTS THAT FUBYAS KNOW ARE THEIR SOCIAL GROUPS. THESE ARE LARGE, LOOSELY KNIT BUT HIGHLY LABELED SUB-SOCIETIES FROM WHICH FUBYAS DRAW THEIR IDENTITY, I.E., BY BELONGING TO THE GROUP AND USING THE GROUP TO BE DIFFERENT FROM OTHER YOUNGER ADULTS.

As you know, Hill and Knowlton has repeatedly advocated more attention to the industry's policy that smoking is a custom for adults only. More effective methods to advance this policy and to bring public attention to it could lead to abating some criticism directed at the industry. We believe that in the long run such a policy would have no significant effect on the use of tobacco among the adult population.

In addition to meeting criticism of important legislators and other opinion makers, a major program on "Adults Only" concept would give the industry a chance to advance a constructive and positive posture. There seems to be widespread opinion that the industry's stance now is largely negative and defensive.

PROPOSAL FOR TOBACCO INDUSTRY PROGRAM ON
"SMOKING—FOR ADULTS ONLY"

Many attacks against the tobacco industry, especially among legislators, stem from concern about youth smoking.

The tobacco industry could make friends among some of the uncommitted public, temper the criticism of some of its detractors, and win solid approval of its present supports, by making a dramatic and genuine effort to get across its policy that:

SMOKING IS FOR ADULTS ONLY

Such a step needs to be carefully planned and executed. Otherwise, it will be subject to the accusation and severe criticism of being cynical, insincere, and even intended to appeal to youth.

• increased goodwill and reputation of the tobacco industry
• strengthening of social and economic systems in which the industry operates.
• the ability to affect the problem areas that most concern the tobacco industry and simultaneously obtain tax benefits.
• a more sophisticated understanding by government regulators of the needs/behaviors of industry. For example, a program to discourage teens from smoking (an adult decision) might prevent or delay further regulation of the tobacco industry. [...]

1. Programs must be related to our business -- perhaps not in obvious direct ways. As in all investments there should be a return on this one.
2. Programs must demonstrate -- not just verbalize -- the industry's commitment to public service.
3. Programs must help us develop new politica1 and business relationships, i.e. build further alliances.
4. Programs must be consistent with all legitimate legal and political strategies.

• Providing on-going and persuasive evidence that the industry is actively discouraging youth smoking and independent verification that the industry's efforts are valid.
• Reinforcing the belief that peer pressure -- not advertising -- is the cause of youth smoking.
• Seizing the political center and forcing the anti-smokers to an extreme (as happened when the antis attacked the industry at the time of the launch.)

The youth program and its individual parts support The Institute's objective of discouraging unfair and counterproductive federal, state and local restrictions on cigarette advertising, by:

• Providing on-going and persuasive evidence that the industry is actively discouraging youth smoking and independent verification that the industry's efforts are valid.
• Reinforcing the belief that peer pressure -- not advertising -- is the cause of youth smoking.
• Seizing the political center and forcing the anti-smokers to an extreme (as happened when the antis attacked the industry at the time of the launch.)

Rationale

Taking into consideration the emerging adverse legislative climate in the region, we have an opportunity to create good will for the tobacco industry by going public with a campaign to discourage juvenile smoking.

Our objective is to communicate that the tobacco industry is not interested in having young people smoke and to position the industry as "a concerned corporate citizen" in an effort to ward off further attacks by the anti-tobacco movement. [...]

Strategy

To convince the target group (young people up to 18 years and parents), that smoking is not appropriate for young people. The focus is on increasing parental awareness on the subject of youth smoking and promoting open discussion with their children. [...]

Executional Concept

We commissioned Leo Burnett to develop a commercial that would be suitable to all Latin markets. [...] The underlying message conveyed is that family communication is crucial when it comes to adult issues such as smoking.

The copy reads: "Help your kids make the right choices. Smoking is an adult decision."

I've looked over the Youth plans presented at Megeve and agree with you that there are a number of good ideas there which deserve further development. [...]

I was surprised how few of them put much emphasis on "working with others to develop communications programs aimed at youth to discourage them from smoking". [...]

This area is to me the untapped possibility on this issue since it should be an approach that a) "everyone can agree on" including the trade, the government, the industry, b) makes a visible and tangible effort which the public could feel and touch; and c) is in no way incompatible with all of our positions on "why kids smoke" and how to effectively deal with the problem. By focusing on this approach, one can draw attention to the real reasons why kids want to smoke, thereby robbing the other side of the ability to focus this issue on the wrong solutions, eg. fiscality.

At the Corporate Affairs Workshop (CAV), the participants identified the following as required elements in any juvenile initiative. Consequently, during our brainstorming, we worked to ensure that all ideas would meet this criteria:

• Need for a Marketing Code.
• Self regulation as the basis for law and enforcement. "Be ahead of the government".
• Commitment of PM to an initiative and willingness to do it alone; if the industry is not interested.
• Aggressively communicate to appropriate audiences what is being done.
• Gain government endorsement/involvement.
• Use allies (i.e. retailers).

Based on the inputs received at the CAW [Corporate Affairs Workshop], we refined the objective of a juvenile initiative program as follows:

"Maintain and proactively protect our ability to advertise, promote and market our products via a juvenile initiative*".

          * Juvenille Iniative = a series of programs and events to discourage juvenile smoking because smoking is an adult decision.

Identifying Current and Desired "Mindsets"

Having restated the objective of a youth initiative, and having narrowed down our list of primary target audiences, we next set about to identify what we believe each group currently thinks about the tobacco industry's approach towards youth smoking, as well as what we would optimistically wish them to think about the industry in the future.

Further, we sought to unearth the underlying emotional and rational "hot buttons" we know that we need to push in order to reach, persuade, convince the target audiences to move from their current to our desired "mindsets".

...the ultimate challenge to maintaining and proactively protecting our ability to advertise, promote and market our products rests with our ability to seek enforcement of laws which deny youth access to tobacco products. While enforcement technically is not our job, we realize that if we are unable to develop a system for enforcement, we will continue to be subjected to the threats of the anti-tobacco movement and the restrictive legislation which results.

Our credibility as an industry rests on 2 basic premises:

1. Our marketing code
2. Country laws prohibiting the sales of cigarettes to minors.

We believe that at a minimum, your local youth initiatives program must emphasize to our internal market our own marketing code. Second, we believe that the first building block to a successful, fully integrated program is an "It's the Law" Program. This is fundamental to our long term strategy for stopping the proliferation of anti-tobacco legislation.

Enclosed please find materials that will give you an indication of the status of the Youth Initiative Program. The benefit of this program is that it is proactive, rather than defensive.[...]

[...]another program goal was to strengthen our involvement with a variety of businesses which distribute or advertise our products -- including retailers, vendors, advertisers and marketers -- to tighten restrictions on minors' access to tobacco products. We are, also working with parent and teacher organizations to ensure that minors receive support and education in regard to smoking being an adult practice.

As we discussed, the ultimate means for determining the success of this program will be : 1) A reduction in legislation introduced and passed restricting or banning our sales and marketing activities; 2) Passage of legislation favorable to the industry; 3) greater support from business, parent and teacher groups.

[...] if we don't take positive, proactive actions now, five years from now we will begin to see the profitability of your business and ours stifled under a suffocating, crazy-quilt blanket of local and state marketing regulations.

Fortunately, we have a unique opportunity to take action on the one issue where our industry is, at present, the most vulnerable. The issue is Youth Access to Tobacco Products.

We begin from the non-debatable position that minors should not smoke. I know each of us here truly believes this. And because we do, there is every reason for us to come together and and find solutions to the problem of underage smoking and the relatively easy access minors sometimes seem to have to cigarettes.

• Taking action on this issue allows us to seize a moment in time when the general political environment is amenable to industry leadership on this issue.
• Acting in a manner that draws the clearest, sharpest possible line between who should and who should not have access to cigarettes will reinforce the right of adults to obtain and enjoy a legal product, and thus prevent marketing bans down the road that are driven by the youth access issue.

[...]

We can and must seize the moral high ground on this issue. If we don't the government and the anti-smoking activists, who are already beginning to use the youth access issue to drive new legislation and restrications, will take the initiative away from us and make it their issue. They can only do this if we let them. WE MUST NOT LET THEM.

We believe that the critical issue is that in too many places in America, minors can still buy cigarettes. The only way to lick this problem is to attack the issue of access.

The best way to keep kids away from cigarettes is to keep cigarettes away from kids.

That is why today we are launching a new initiative called Action Against Access. We are launching it because we want to make a difference on the issue of youth smoking.

Let's get to the heart of the issue. Let's make a real difference. Let's make it as difficult as we can for kids to buy cigarettes.

We have no doubt that some of our critics will say this initiative -- broad as it is -- is not enough. No proposal we could make, no matter how far-reaching, will satisfy those whose agenda is to regulate in a manner that would severely restrict, if not prohibit, the sale of cigarettes to adults. To them, we say: Make no mistake. We are as committed to preserving the rights of adult smokers to make choices in a free marketplace as we are committed to implementing this important initiative against youth access. We want to make a difference on the youth smoking issue; but we will not let this issue be used by others to take away the freedoms of the marketplace or the freedoms of adults to smoke.

We believe our Action Against Access program represents a rational, effective approach to this critical issue -- how to prevent minors from smoking -- and we believe that reasonable people will agree with us.

[...] our [YSP] campaigns' approach is to support kids' ability to make the decision not to smoke by applauding their ability to make smart decisions, to think for themselves and not to succumb to peer pressure. The premise is that kids have the knowledge and judgment they need, but they need the positive reinforcement that they continually can make good decisions to resist peer pressure and sustain their good intentions not to smoke. Additionally, making kids question whether smoking is "cool" in the critical eyes of their peers/nbsp;— reminding them that for the majority, it is not — is an important and effective way to communicate the youth smoking prevention message.

What follows is a draft report on my meeting with BAT and RJR on how we intend to establish a youth smoking prevention task force among the three companies. The report is intended for the Regional Presidents and CA heads around the world.

Tim Nichols and Chris Baker (now with TBWA after its merger with GGT) and John Sharkey (now independent) made a presentation to the group on the research and creative development work they have done for PM in Europe on youth smoking prevention issues. Their presentation was enthusiastically received and BAT and RJR have agreed to have John, Tim and Chris as the research and creative resource for the working group.

We had two presentations from agencies to serve as a kind of secretariat to the group: one from Burson Marstellar, by Allan Biggar; one from Hill and Knowlton, by Edward Bickham. BAT would also like us to hear from Tim Sutton of Charles Barker and Associates, now owned by Sawyer Miller, the firm that has done much of the communications work for the US industry on the June 20 Resolution and the McCain bill.

Youth Smoking Prevention: KIDS SHOULD NOT TRY CIGARETTES

Teens who smoke don't seen themselves as "smokers." OCCASIONALLY WITH FRIENDS - EXPERIMENTATION - PLAN TO QUIT

Exception is the "bad ass."
The first to try
Influence others

Perceived benefits and risks are social and external

"I don't want to disappoint my friends."
"I don't want to be left out."
"I want to please my friends..."
"I want to look older, more mature."
"I want to look cool"
"I want to see what it's like..."

Mainstream teens take their cues from "fringe culture segments."

"Edge" teens are looked to by Influencers and Conformers to see what's cool."
Passives Conformers --> Influencers --> The Edge or Conformers --> The Edge

Edge Teens are found among Trashers, Rockers and Anarchists.

What They're Like:

• Cutting edge
• Outside the teen culture
• Rebellious, experimental, adventurous, independent, reject labels, break the rules, live for the moment
• Anti-style, anti-fashion
• Least traditional - family, school, social issues
• First to invent and TRY new thing

Influencers are found among Hip Hoppers and Retros.

What They're Like:

• Popular, socially-engaged, outgoing, confident, happy, fun-loving
• Racially diverse
• Good-looking, care about how they look and what they wear, know they've "arrived"
• Brand conscious shoppers
• Involved in school
• First to pick up new things

Conformers make up the Mainstream.

What They're Like:

• Lack confidence and social status
• Average participants in most activities
• Followers
• Emulate Influencers, look to others for fashions, styles, attitudes and behavior
• Seek cues and confidence

Only the Country segment is Passive.

What They're Like:

• Want to be more popular but are passive in their emulation
• Are content with their status, feel normal
• Least active, socialize with other passives
• Last to pick up on fashion trends

There is strong evidence that starting to smoke is related to social factors, particularly the influence of parents and peer group, and to the 'anticipation of adulthood'.

Having a father who smoked influenced teenage smoking to a similar extent, but the importance of having an elder brother or sister who smoked was even greater. Smoking was found in only 20% of teenagers whose elder brothers or sisters did not smoke, but in 43% of teenagers whose older siblings smoked. Of greatest influence, however, was whether or not one's friends smoked. 56% of smokers and only 14% of non-smokers said their friends smoked.

McArthur et al. (1958) quote the following passage from a study which investigated smoking in a typical American high school: "Law and the mores deny high school students the right to enjoy the pleasures derived from tobacco, gambling and alcohol. However, the mystery with which adults surround these areas of behaviour lends them a special value which seems to act as a stimulus to many young people who desire to experience the supposed thrill of pleasures their elders deny them." Transgressing the restrictions imposed by law and taboo is a source of excitement, both individually and within the clique of the initiated. This kind of excitement, of course, does not appeal to all adolescents. Not surprisingly, those to whom it does appeal are also more likely to indulge in other risk-taking behaviours and to find other sources of conflict with authority. In their review of smoking in childhood, Mausner and Platt (1971) present evidence that those boys and girls who begin to smoke "are more rebellious than non-smokers, have poor relations with authority figures, date frequently, drive early and use alcohol, and tend to have accidents when they drive."

A restrictive, or to be more precise authoritarian, upbringing generally leads to a negative attitude towards figures of authority and a rejection of norms which adults or figures of authority represent. As these norms usually include the rule that "children" should not smoke, smoking is presumably regarded as a means of challenging accepted values.

"For young people smoking represents their symbolic inclusion in adult status; however it also represents a rejection of adult values" (Müller 1993, p.98 ; see also Müller 1979, p.7). This is true in the sense that young people feel confronted by a set of values which adults impose upon "children".

The influence of the peer group is also more complicated than would seem apparent from research which merely stops with the conclusion that smokers have more friends who smoke than they have non-smoker friends. In other words, it is the group pressure among young people which compels the individual to smoke. However, Müller's research findings indicate that it is far from clear whether peer group do not "simply reflect the social context within which the smoking habit they have observed in their parents and older siblings is reinforced, in which case the correlation between the smoking behaviour of a juvenile and the smoking behaviour of his peer group is not a product of a particular influence but far more the result of selective behaviour" (Müller 1983, p. 98). Irrespective of whether the peer goup serves as the initiator of the habit - or merely reinforces smoking - it seems clear that "smoking (is) a ritual to demonstrate solidarity with others of the same age who due to repression by their elders attempt to distance themselves from adults" (Mülller 1983, p. 99).

In addition to their immediate peer group it seems that the example of smokers in the adult world also has a decisive influence on young people. The young are inclined to think that far more adults smoke than is in fact the case. Accordingly, as smoking is specifically associated with adult status, it tends to be adopted as a means of demonstrating adulthood.