By DOH JAMES SONKEY
The fight against tobacco consumption in the world and its deadly threats to human beings in general and children in particular is expected to enter high gear this year following the launching last March 9, 2018 of a campaign to stop the world’s largest tobacco companies from targeting children near schools in countries.
According to a press release issued by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington DC, the campaign that holds under the slogan “Big Tobacco, Tiny Targets” takes aim at Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco and other tobacco companies whose products are being systematically promoted and routinely sold to kids around schools, playgrounds and places frequented by young people.
Initiators say that through innovative technology, citizens can take a part in ending tobacco marketing to kids as “Through crowdsourcing technology and social media, the campaign empowers citizens across the world to help document tobacco marketing that targets kids. With just a mobile phone, citizens in any country can take a photo of tobacco advertising near schools, playgrounds and other kid-friendly venues and upload the data to the campaign hub www.takepart.org/tiny target .
They explained that the information collected will be used to warn governments and spur them to ban all tobacco marketing.
The campaign is said to have been provoked by an article published in The Guardian showing how children are exposed to cigarette advertizing, demonstrating how Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco are aggressively marketing cigarettes and other tobacco products near primary and secondary schools in more than 22 countries. Based on data collected by researchers at Johns Hopkins University and non-governmental organizations, the story shines a spotlight on a key tactic tobacco companies use to target children, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.
According to The Guardian, “School children around the world are being exposed on a daily basis to cigarette advertising and promotions by a tobacco industry that needs to recruit the young to maintain its vast profits.”
The industry’s tactics are similar in countries spanning the globe. They include large advertisements, promotions for cheap and even free tobacco products, and high-visibility product placements by stores, street vendors, kiosks and other retailers surrounding schools. Tobacco products, advertisements and branding are often visible from inside schools or right outside school entrances, making it impossible for kids to avoid them.
The President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Matthew L. Myers argues that “The consistent presence of Philip Morris and British American Tobacco brands prominently displayed and sold next to elementary schools, in country after country, cannot be a coincidence. This is clear evidence that these giant tobacco companies are targeting young children near their schools, often in poor countries where laws are weak and the companies think they can get away with this despicable behavior. These companies’ actions show why they can’t be taken seriously when they claim to be responsible entities that are helping to solve the tobacco problem. The targeting of kids near schools leaves no doubt that they’re the main cause of the problem, not the solution.”