The American Lung Association is exposing how tobacco companies market to children. And they’d like our help.

Their campaign, Expose Big Tobacco, is collecting photographs of neighborhood tobacco advertisements to “highlight the urgent need [for Congress] to finally hold the tobacco companies accountable for how they make and advertise their deadly products.”

[T]obacco companies prey on teenagers and youth — calling them the “replacement generation” of smokers. And sadly — they have a lot of success: Each day more than 4,000 kids try their first cigarette and 1,100 kids become regular daily smokers.

Now is our chance to expose their bad acts. Your pictures will be used to show Congress how important it is that they finally regulate tobacco products - including how they’re marketed and sold in stores. Currently, tobacco products are one of the only consumer products not regulated by the federal government. That means the tobacco companies can spike nicotine levels to make cigarettes more addictive; claim their products are less harmful — even if they’re not; and add candy and other flavorings to try and hook kids. . . .

So, check out stores selling tobacco products and share the pictures you take of their advertisements with us (Hint: check out convenience stores and gas stations selling tobacco products near schools). The American Lung Association will choose the best photos and highlight them our website.

The best photos will also be posted on the Expose Big Tobacco Facebook page (where you can also see some good examples).

Thanks to PEM member Lisa Pogoff for the heads up on this campaign.

Image courtesy American Lung Association.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, May 28, 2008 at 6:32 am and is filed under The Problem, How Marketers Think. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.