Isn’t time for the Marlboro Man and Ms. Virginia Slims to die?
In real life, they would have ridden off into the sunset long ago, lugging the oxygen tanks of their loyal posse. In fact, three men who played the Marlboro Man in ads died of lung cancer. The ads, except on TV, live on. As it happens, Marlboros are by far the most popular cigarettes among teens.
As inroads are made in this country to eradicate smoking, tobacco companies simply step up their advertising. Between 1999 and 2003, smoking among high school girls decreased by 37 percent. Between 2003 and 2007, however, there was only a 2.3 percent decrease. While the overall trend in smoking among teenage girls has been decreasing, it is doing so at a slower rate, according to the American Lung Association.
Several public health agencies released a report last week warning that the tobacco industry has unleashed its most aggressive marketing campaigns aimed at women and girls in more than a decade. The report notes that the nation’s two largest tobacco companies, Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds, have launched campaigns designed to make smoking seem feminine and fashionable — an idea even older than Virginia Slims herself.
Philip Morris gave Virginia Slims a makeover, creating “purse packs” — small, rectangular cigarette packs (in mauve and teal) that contain “superslim” cigarettes. That the packs are cell phone-sized is no mistake. But the “Superslims Ultra Lights” aren’t just another fashion accessory — they keep you skinny, too.
Innovator R.J. Reynolds launched a new version of its Camel cigarettes, called Camel No. 9, packaged in shiny black boxes with hot pink and teal borders. (Comparing a famous perfume with one of the stinkiest odors on Earth requires a suspension of belief that apparently only people who hawk cigarettes can make.) Their super-thin smoke is called a “stiletto,” pitched to “the most fashion forward woman.” Nothing says sophistication like stilettos and a smoker’s hack.
The report urges Congress to pass legislation giving the FDA control over tobacco products, which currently aren’t regulated. This could lead to further restrictions on advertising, among other controls. This is an important step.
Even more important is helping kids early. Nadine Carter, Tobacco Coordinator for the Tulalip Health Clinic, recently told Herald columnist Kristi O’Harran that reaching kids before age 12 is critical. The biggest factor influencing whether kids will start smoking is if their parents or siblings smoke.
Joe Camel, the Marlboro Man and Virginia Slims aren’t as influencial as those we admire. But once a kid starts, the cycle is renewed: another customer addicted, the tobacco companies fighting for their business.
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