How modern teens are being affected by the pop culture

                      Modern cigarettes seem quite enticing to the youth      Photo: Courtesy

 

Children and young people are being encouraged to try electronic cigarettes by enticing sponsorship campaigns and celebrity culture, a new report has claimed. 

Cancer Research UK said it does not want e-cigarettes to be banned because they can help people quit the habit, but is calling for children to be protected from excessive advertising, flamboyant packaging and the variety of flavours on offer. 

Researchers analysed almost 1,000 individual pieces of marketing for the digital cigarettes placed on social media sites, in busy urban areas and on the way to major events such as music festivals.

They found examples of online promotions including competitions, apps on mobile phones, and group discount vouchers for e-cigarettes.

Sponsorship of a range of sports, including motor and powerboat racing, was also highlighted as a promotional strategy used by a number of companies.

Researchers found e-cigarettes were promoted on the way to events such as Glastonbury, in busy locations such as Canary Wharf in London, on company websites and in specialist shops.

Alison Cox, Cancer Research UK's head of tobacco policy, said: 'Tobacco cigarettes cause one in four cancer deaths. 

Hundreds of children start smoking every day and we don't want the marketing of e-cigarettes to confuse the message that smoking kills.

'We aren't opposed to e-cigarettes being marketed to adult smokers - and hope that the marketing effort encourages many smokers to give up.

'There's evidence in the report - particularly on social media - of e-cigs being promoted as cool and the latest thing and applying all the kinds of marketing ploys that would be used to attract a youth market, including involving pop stars, computer games and one e-cig company even sponsoring a football youth team's strip."

Professor Gerard Hastings, report co-author at the University of Stirling, said: 'E-cigarettes and other alternative nicotine delivery devices are probably much safer than conventional cigarettes, and so if smokers switch to them, many lives could be saved.

'But the market is looking to make money, not improve public health, and this is creating many dangers.

'The fact that multinational tobacco companies are moving in on this market is of particular concern. From past experience, we know they are deceitful, determined and deeply detrimental to public health.'

The report comes as a separate study from London Economics found no change in the prevalence of cigarette smoking in Australia since the introduction of plain packaging in December 2012.

Dr Gavan Conlon, lead researcher and London Economics partner, said: 'Over the timeframe of the analysis, the data does not demonstrate that there has been a change in smoking prevalence following the introduction of plain packaging despite an increase in the noticeability of the new health warnings.'

 

Source: Dailymail