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Dialogues@RU is published
annually
by the
Writing Program at
Rutgers, The State
University of New Jersey
Volume 4
Fall 2005
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes: Advertising and the Tobacco Industry - Page 4
By Monica Yung
Although the routine "considerations" to legislators may seem dishonorable but insignificant, it can be argued that the money that the tobacco industry provides to the government is, in contrast, a very significant sum. Therefore,
with the substantial source of revenue the cigarette industry has become for most governments, in their dealings with the cigarette industry, public policy makers must balance between the revenue needs of the state and the health concerns of the anti-smoking forces. (McGowan 114).
While it may seem outrageous to "balance" the importance of lives and revenue, it cannot be denied that if the government did not accept revenues from the tobacco industry and attempted to eliminate the cigarette business in the hope of saving lives, there would be a tremendous negative affect on the economy. In Cigarettes , Tara Parker-Pope argues that
[t]he world is hooked on cigarettes. For every smoker who lights up a cigarette, there are countless others who have already taken a long, slow draw from the cigarette economy. Politicians, government workers, store clerks, truckers, farmers, educators, artists and doctors ¾ indeed, virtually everyone inhales its smoke. (21).
It is undeniable that the cigarette economy is a tremendous business for many, from the farmers who work on the tobacco fields, to those in the industry who profit from the five billion dollars spent on cigarette advertising, to those who are supported by the anti-tobacco movement. Therefore, some may argue that the advertisements, "donations" made by the tobacco industry to politicians, and the industry itself are necessary evils. Nonetheless, it cannot be contested that political influence helps the cigarette industry to ensure its external control, and repeatedly surrounding people with appealing messages about their product makes them socially acceptable. Large donations understandably make government figures less keen to attack their benefactors and prevent their advertising schemes, and as a result, the tobacco companies as well as beer brewers exert considerable effort to create associations with the government and other influential entities such as medical institutions to ensure that they can continually implement the influences that guarantee their success.
Although external control is an effective strategy that enables industries to gain the undivided attention of consumers, when it is used in conjunction with "internal control" of media messages (Scott 71), consumers are significantly more likely to be influenced by their effective marketing schemes. External control ensures that the product is prevalent in all forms of media ¾ billboards, commercials, magazines, and movies. However, it is not necessarily guaranteed that the customer will have a positive impression of the product solely based on its ubiquity. Therefore, "internal control" is employed to associate products with appealing meanings and events. In Smoke Gets in Your Eyes , Thibodeau and Martin explain that "cigarettes have always embodied pleasure. Package designers have long been instructed to sell cigarettes by linking them to happiness, fun, desire, and health" (73). Note, once again, the ironic identification of smoking, a demonstrably unhealthy habit, as a signifier of "health."
The advertising strategies of the beer and tobacco industries differ in one important respect, however: while beer advertising is directed primarily at men, tobacco advertising has increasingly been characterized by campaigns directed specifically toward women. Initially, smoking was regarded as a male habit.