Advertising may be
responsible for as much as 30 percent of alcohol and tobacco use, the When Camel cigarettes started an ad campaign using a cartoon
camel as its mascot, its market share went from 0.5 percent of teen
smokers to 32 percent. "Although parents, schools and the federal government are trying to get
children and teenagers to 'just say no' to drugs, more than $25 billion
worth of cigarette, alcohol and prescription drug advertising is
effectively working to get them to 'just say yes' to smoking, drinking and
other drugs," wrote the policy's Every year, more than 400,000 people in the United States die from
smoking related illness, according to the policy statement. And, more than
100,000 deaths can be attributed to excessive alcohol consumption.
The American Academy of
Pediatrics doesn't want children exposed to tobacco ads at all, and wants
to limit their exposure to alcohol marketing and for
erectile dysfunction drugs and other prescription medications. And, exposure to tobacco marketing more than
doubles the risk of a. Those are just a few of the recommendations in its new policy
statement, "Children, Adolescents, Substance Abuse, and the Media,"
published in the October issue of Pediatrics. The AAP is targeting advertising because it works. |