Tobacco companies are using online video portals to side-step advertising restrictions and target young people, according to new research published in the Tobacco Control journal.
The study, carried out by scientists at the University of Otago in New Zealand, found that online videos containing tobacco brand images or words are quite common.
Researchers Lucy Elkin, Dr George Thompson and Dr Nick Wilson carried out searches on YouTube using five leading cigarette brands: Marlboro, L&M, Benson and Hedges, Winston and Mild Seven.
The searches brought up 163 videos, including 20 that they thought to be “very professionally made”, which were then analysed.
The findings revealed that over 70 per cent of the videos contained “pro-tobacco” content, and only four per cent “anti-tobacco” content. Over half of the videos showed smoking imagery.
The four most prominent themes of pro-tobacco videos were celebrity/movies, sports, music and 'archive', the first three of which are popular among young internet users.
For instance, one pro-smoking music video had been viewed more than two million times.
Of the 40 Marlboro videos, 39 had the brand name in the title, while 33 appeared to be related to the brand, for example containing images of a man on a horse or the Marlboro advertising theme.
The authors of the study say that pro-tobacco videos have a "significant presence" on YouTube.
"Since content may be removed from YouTube if it is found to breach copyright or if it contains offensive material, there is scope for the public and health organisations to request the removal of pro-tobacco content containing copyright or offensive material," they claimed.
"Governments should also consider implementing Framework Convention on Tobacco Control requirements on the internet, to further reduce such pro-tobacco content."
Robin Hewings, tobacco policy manager at Cancer Research UK said: "Tobacco companies will use every means at their disposal to advertise their deadly products. They need to recruit new, younger smokers to replace the 100,000 people who die every year as a result of using tobacco.
He added: "Tackling this loophole of the tobacco ad ban is complex. This research shows why cigarettes should be sold in standardised packaging. Tobacco companies would no longer have the same kind of brand images to promote on the internet or elsewhere."
Related Links
Elkin, L., Thomson, G., & Wilson, N. (2010). Connecting world youth with tobacco brands: YouTube and the internet policy vacuum on Web 2.0 Tobacco Control DOI: 10.1136/tc.2010.035949
