She Hede: China’s Ban on Tobacco Marketing Should Leave No Loopholes
On August 16, 2013, in the Economic Development Zone of Enshi, Hubei, a worker is arranging finished cigarettes on the assembly line at the Hubei Tobacco Industrial Co., Ltd.
If you have ever been to China or lived there, you may have seen beautiful, shiny cigarette displays next to the cash registers in tobacco specialty stores or convenience stores.
Tobacco advertising at retail points—specialty stores, general shops, and convenience stores—has become an increasingly important marketing strategy for tobacco companies in China and even worldwide. With other marketing methods, such as television, newspapers, and magazines being restricted, the “last avenue” for tobacco marketing is being exploited here.
However, tobacco advertising at retail points is just as potentially harmful as other forms of advertising; in some ways, it can be even more dangerous. Convenience stores are attractive to young people, and teenagers are impressed by retail displays.
Like other tobacco advertisements, promotions, and sponsorships, retail displays represent marketing death—therefore they should be banned. This is why the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control calls for a comprehensive ban on all forms of advertising, including retail point advertising.
In China, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress is considering amending the Advertising Law to strengthen existing restrictions on tobacco advertising. The State Council has held multiple discussions on the proposed amendments, which are now being discussed by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.
The WHO is pleased to see the strengthening of restrictions on tobacco advertising, including the latest draft amendment to the Advertising Law, and congratulates the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress. This is a good step forward.
However, the revised bill still does not fully comply with the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, as it allows certain tobacco advertisements, including retail point marketing. This is a significant issue; exempting retail point advertising from the ban would severely undermine the stricter restrictions on other marketing methods proposed by the new law.
A comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising helps reduce tobacco use worldwide. The word “comprehensive” is particularly important: only when all forms of marketing are banned will advertising bans be effective in reducing tobacco use. Partial bans are ineffective.
Banning tobacco advertising, including retail point advertising, is crucial for protecting young people from the harms of tobacco. Adolescents are particularly susceptible to tobacco marketing. Due to exposure to tobacco advertisements, promotions, and sponsorships, about one-third of young people have tried smoking. Most adult smokers started smoking at a young age.
Worldwide, the tobacco industry has a pattern of using marketing to attract young people. The reasons are easy to understand: if people are induced to smoke at a young age, they will become lifelong customers of the tobacco industry.
Consider this: 4% of surveyed Chinese adults reported seeing tobacco advertisements in stores in the past 30 days. In contrast, 40% of teenagers aged 13 to 15 reported noticing tobacco retail point advertisements or promotions. That’s a tenfold difference.
A comprehensive ban on tobacco advertising, both in China and worldwide, is the right choice for controlling tobacco—it may save millions of lives. In the upcoming vote on restricting tobacco advertising, China has a historic opportunity to join the ranks of global leaders in tobacco control, setting an example for other countries and sending a message: marketing “death” is unacceptable at any time or place.
In China, removing those eye-catching advertisements that induce impulse buying in tobacco retail stores can help adults make informed choices to quit smoking and protect the health of the next generation. #p#分页标题#e#
