The Real Cost: The Tobacco Industry

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, tobacco use causes about 6 million deaths per year: 480,000 deaths result from cigarette smoking and 41,000 deaths result from secondhand smoke exposure. Nonetheless, tobacco use is the largest preventable cause of death and diseases every year in the United States. In addition, companies such as The Real Cost are advertising and appealing to youth and adults all over the country in order to save lives; indeed, advertising companies spend millions of dollars on anti-tobacco use ads, but tobacco companies advertise just as much; subsequently, the conflict between the two causes tobacco companies to lack support and not be as effective as they use to be. Tobacco was first discovered
on October 15, 1492 when Christopher Columbus was offered dry tobacco leaves as a gift from Native Americans he encountered on his journey (Randall). The prevention of tobacco can be traced all the way back to 1604 when King James I tried to reduce tobacco usage by placing a tax on it. Decades later Hitler started his own anti-tobacco movement in Nazi Germany during the 1930s and 1940s. According to DiPalma, an anti-smoking ad from Nazi Germany read, “The chain-smoker...He does not devour it, it devours him.” In July of 1968 actor Bill Talman recorded the first celebrity anti-smoking TV ad for the American Cancer Society; the ad was recorded just six weeks before he passed away from lung cancer (DiPalma). In 1969 Congress passed the Cigarette of 1969 which removed all tobacco advertising from the radio and television (The Onyx Group). The Real Cost campaign is to educate at-risk teens about the harmful effects of tobacco use; they launched their campaign nationally in February of 2014 across multiple media platforms such as TV, radio, print, digital, and out-of-home sites (“The Real Cost Campaign”). The prevention of tobacco started extremely early in history after discovering the harmful effects of tobacco use. Tobacco companies are targeting the most vulnerable members of society; children, teens, and those trying to quit. Specifically in this ‘The Real Cost’ advertisement there is a gorgeous teenage girl. This picture emphasizes her dazzling brown eyes with a pop of blue and green in the center, but she had a look of panic and horror in her eyes. The focus point of this ad is the girl’s mouth; furthermore, she has no lips but rather a USB port plug in. Across the bottom of the page in bold white lettering it reads, “Don’t get Hacked by Cigarettes.” What does getting hacked by cigarettes mean? Luckily the ad also includes, “Nicotine can reprogram your brain-until all you think about is your next cigarette.” Nicotine is a chemical compound that is absorbed into the body, then enters the bloodstream where it circulates throughout the body and travels to the brain and crosses the blood-brain barrier where it activates cholinergic receptors (Mandal). ‘The Real Cost’ isn’t just advertising a girl without a mouth, but they are portraying the prominent problem about being addicted to tobacco is a loss of control to disrupt the beliefs of independent youth who believe they won’t become addicted to tobacco and that they will be able to quit whenever they feel like it (“The Real Cost Campaign”). “The majority of youth perceived The Real Cost advertisements as effective, reporting high levels of agreement with items such as the ad “grabbed my attention” and was “powerful,” “worth remembering,” and “convincing” (Duke et al.). These advertisements are making memorable impressions on all age groups around the country not only for their jaw dropping images, but for the long lasting powerful messages engraved into the minds of the audience. On the other hand, tobacco companies such as R.J.
Reynolds are finding new ways to market their products since they aren’t allowed to on television or in magazines. They are using “nontraditional” advertising by paying retailers to place their products in the most visible parts of the store (Brodwin). Brodwin also identifies R.J. Reynolds using flavors like orange-mint, chocolate, and vanilla in its Camel cigarettes to increase their appeal to youth and first-time smokers. Likewise, the tobacco industries also sponsor sports teams, concerts, and public arenas. Consequently, companies like ‘The Real Cost’ have exceeded the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation for achieving popular awareness levels (Duke et al.). According to Hayden, tobacco-control efforts have averted 8 million premature deaths in the United States. A study led by David Levy of Georgetown University in Washington, DC compared the difference between the life expectancy in 1964 to today; the study showed those whose lives were saved by tobacco-control efforts gained an average of 20 years of life (Hayden). “Cigarette smoking costs about $170 billion a year in U.S health care expenses” and two-thirds of those expenses are paid through Medicare or Medicaid (Preidt). Tobacco use is taking the money of taxpayers whether they smoke or not. Luckily tobacco control efforts are also being federally funded. The Tips campaign is one of the most cost-effective of all health interventions; this campaign cost $48 million and was the first federally funded national mass media anti-smoking campaign and led to 100,000 smokers quitting permanently (Preidt). Although tobacco companies are still able to make revenue the anti-tobacco efforts have proven to be effective and make a difference in the United States while saving federal
money. ‘The Real Cost’ advertisements are making a memorable impact on viewers around the country. Similarly, they aren’t the only company seeking and achieving saving millions of lives from the harmful effects of tobacco. Although tobacco industries are still able to sell their product companies like ‘The Real Cost’ are making long lasting impressions on the smoking community. Ultimately, anti-tobacco advertisements are effective in their campaigns and continue to gain support every day. The next time an anti-tobacco use ad comes on television think of the 8 million lives efforts like ‘The Real Cost’ have already saved.