Engaño mortal: las nuevas normas mundiales de la industria tabacalera para la comercialización del tabaco / Fatal deception: the tabacco industry's new world standards for tobacco marketing

ABSTRACT

Being increasingly threatened by the worldwide antismoking struggle, the major tobacco companies are eager to improve their public image. This leads the companies to adopt inconsequential "measures" such as the tobacco industry's "new" standards for tobacco marketing that were "voluntarily" issued in September 2001 by the British American Tobacco company. These measures are clearly attempts to reduce the disapproval generated by the companies' promotion and advertising campaigns, which indirectly target young people. With these standards the tobacco companies supposedly commit themselves, among other things, to not using advertising directed at youth and to not selling or distributing tobacco products in places frequented by young people. This document explains why these measures are completely ineffective, are not anything new, and are a subtle effort to feign a conscientious, responsible attitude, which is far from genuine. As long as there are marketing activities directed at adults, young people will be exposed to the influence of those activities. Many countries have completely prohibited the marketing of tobacco products, given that the "new" marketing standards do not represent progress in any way whatsoever