Tobacco companies target teenagers in their marketing strategies and consider the teen market vital for the survival of the industry, a Malaysian public health researcher claimed.

At the same time, these companies also run anti-smoking campaigns among youth, aimed at winning political and community appeal, said Mary Assunta, a PhD candidate at the University of Sydney.

"The industry reasoned that it could then use this programme to lobby key politicians for support in preventing the passage of legislation it anticipated would hurt the industry," she said.

She revealed this as part of extensive review between November 2001 and March 2003 of previously secret tobacco industry documents that have been made public since 1998, following a multi-state court settlement agreement in the United States called the Attorneys General Master Settlement Agreement.

From her research lasting a little over a year, Assunta have been able to show how industry lobby in Malaysia gained from the pro-tobacco position of certain government ministries to frustrate early attempts to tighten the country's advertising code on tobacco.

Results of her study were made available to malaysiakini , and written as a four-part series. The first two parts showed how collusion between industry and political players delayed important tobacco control legislation from materialising.

The third part looked at how industry, with ministerial help, found loopholes in the no-tobacco sponsorship policies of international sports. This article is the final installment in the series.

Assunta, a former media officer with the Consumers' Association of Penang, won the prestigious Luther Terry Award in August this year, "for outstanding individual leadership ... in opposing the tobacco industry's rising influence in developing nations".

Cowboy imagery

Documents she has unearthed on the marketing strategies of the tobacco multinationals deals a particular blow to the industry's attempt to show itself as socially responsible, and as being part of the solution rather than the problem.

"While tobacco companies publicly say children should not smoke, commercial sustainability requires that they attract young smokers," said Assunta.

Capitalising on the fact that tobacco companies routinely tracked their 'young adult smokers' (YAS) market - an industry euphemism for low-age or underage smokers - these consumer surveys proved valuable in revealing how the companies used attractive imagery to draw in the young.

In Malaysia, the top 'YAS' brands were Dunhill, Salem, Lucky Strike and Marlboro, said Assunta.

Philip Morris in 1990 recognised "Marlboro needs to attract more starters in order to maintain its competitive edge over these brands which have a younger appeal."

Youth were seen as key to Marlboro's strong growth in Malaysia, especially given the brand's 'man in control' imagery which has appeal among Asian young adult male smokers.

In its three-year plan for Malaysia between 1994 and 1996, Philip Morris was optimistic about good growth because of its young smokers, said Assunta.

Studies by the Marlboro-maker in mid-1994 identified values that were associated with Malaysian youth, she said.

The company said these comprised of "eleven value orientations" ... including "more expressions of independence and rejection of conservative lifestyles ... a desire to have their own identity and be self determining...".

The Marlboro cowboy, Assunta assessed, had to be presented exuding an air of 'independence' to appeal to Malaysian youth.

"Marlboro's share growth is forecasted to accelerate given its strong YAS profile, strengthening starter share, positive image, and good in-switching dynamics" the company said.

In 1992, Philip Morris reported that the strength of its Marlboro Red brand (in Malaysia) was high among young adult smokers, and its consumer profile was "the youngest and most affluent".

According to Assunta, British American Tobacco (BAT) had, in its assessment of Marlboro's success, reported: "Focus in the younger smoker (statement underlined to emphasise) - a key factor in the success of Marlboro advertising has been its consistent targeting of 18-24 year old men who are sophisticated, intelligent city dwellers, advertising literate, and most importantly, fashion influencers."

Youthful appeal

The tobacco multinationals selected appropriate sports for sponsorship based on their popularity and youthful appeal, said Assunta.

Malaysian Tobacco Company (MTC, now BAT) in 1988 promoted Lucky Strike in a 'biker' advertising campaign together with a reduced price.

MTC's own evaluation of the campaign revealed that "the biker himself portrayed the image of someone that was youthful, Malay, rugged, quick-tempered and a show-off."

Documents for another biker campaign in 1993 revealed that MTC appreciated that the advertisements generated perceptions that coincided with the image of Lucky Strike as a "cigarette for youth/motorcycle enthusiasts".

Movies and videos were also looked at as a useful tools to reach out to a young market.

"While sports is by far the best avenue to attract, sample and influence our core target smokers, it's not the only way. International movies and videos also have tremendous appeal to our young adult consumers," Philip Morris revealed in another internal document.

Tobacco company Brown and Williamson (B&W), said Assunta, promoted its Kool brand of cigarettes in Malaysia to a consumer profile which included teenagers identified as "...60 to 70 percent Malays, 15 years & above ... some students ... a small but growing segment of the young, Malay educated."

Industry documents have shown that cash prizes offered by tobacco makers in 1987 were able to affect a significant jump in young smokers between 20 and 25, said Assunta.

"The reason for the increase was a promotional campaign launched in 1987 by Rothmans and MTC where they offered RM20,000 case prize through Dunhill and RM10,000 cash prize through Benson Hedges respectively."

A general consumer survey of these efforts by Philip Morris reported that it "not only recorded a tremendous increase in smoker share for Dunhill ... It attracted 62 percent of the beginner smokers who began to smoke during the past year."

Making it affordable

In order to make cigarettes affordable to the youth market, said Assunta, one strategy was to reduce pack to as small as seven sticks per pack, to suit low-income consumers.

"Since teenagers have less disposable income, it was important for the industry to cater to young smokers with affordable cigarettes."

In its three year plan for 1994 to 1996, Philip Morris revealed that if packs of 20 became too expensive for young smokers, it planned to sell them in smaller, and therefore cheaper, quantities.

"As the total outlay for a pack of 20s became too prohibitive for our young adult smokers we should consider smaller packings. Currently we plan to reduce the price of our 14s packs from RM2.40 to RM2.20. Should this move yield no desired results, we will launch a 10's and 7's packing in this strong growth segment."

Newport menthol, a B&W brand, was also made affordable for the younger set: "Newport's youthful image will be combined with a value for money offering in a number of markets including Singapore and Malaysia," revealed a 1985 company document.

These internal industry documents reveal the opposite of the industry's public line.

The policy to court young people extends globally.

As youth smoking started to slide in Europe in 1992, said Assunta, Philip Morris' executive vice-president Geoffrey Bible told advertising agency Leo Burnett, creators of the Marlboro campaign, that the situation signalled "the first ring of the death bell and therefore we must come alive with gusto to correct it."

But locally too, the industry recognised that continued access to a youth market was key to its very survival.

The Confederation of Malaysia Tobacco Manufacturers (CMTM) - an industry lobby for the three largest tobacco presence in the nation: British American Tobacco, Philip Morris (now known as Altria) and Japan Tobacco - called the Malaysian ban on sales to minors as a threat to its "current marketing freedom."

Malaysian tobacco companies have played a key role in promoting youth smoking, said Assunta.

"Although they deny it, children are crucial to the tobacco business and they used strategies that encouraged smoking initiation among Malaysian teenagers."

And despite the three youth-directed anti-smoking campaigns launched by CMTM, she added, internal documents have revealed that the campaigns were launched to offset the Malaysian government's proposal to legislate tobacco controls.

Neighbouring success

Pointing to Singapore and Thailand, two neighbouring countries that have instituted strong tobacco control measures, Assunta said experience there have shown that smoking prevalence is on the decrease.

The drop in smoking is due to the countries' total ban on tobacco advertising and promotions, increased taxes, banning of free sampling, and anti-smoking campaigns without the participation of the tobacco industry, she said.

In 1996, Singapore even declined the Tobacco Association's help on youth anti-smoking campaigns, as a measure to "prevent the public receiving confusing or contradictory messages in our smoking control efforts."

"When the Singapore government was convinced that the tobacco industry was misleading the public and children by distributing 'Children, don't smoke' posters to tobacco retailers, it issued an immediate order for their withdrawal," Assunta said.

The yank order was final and not open for any discussion.

As a result of its uncompromising stand on tobacco control, Singapore currently experiences the lowest smoking prevalence in the world, at 14 per cent of the population.

By contrast, Assunta pointed out, similar campaigns run in Malaysia by industry group CMTM was welcomed and endorsed by the Malaysian government.

According to figures released by the Health Ministry in 1996, 24.8 percent of Malaysians are smokers. Gender-wise, smokers make up 49.2 percent of adult males and 3.5 percent of adult females. It also said that a quarter of all deaths in the country are tobacco-related.