Teen Targets

Teens have been used as targets for many different produces from make-up to clothes, face wash to school supplies... Trying to bribe us with promises of love, happiness, confidence, beauty and popularity. Using these techniques to lure in teen buyers is bad enough, but when manufacturers deliberately use them on a product that has proven to cause harm or death, potentially shorten or take away the live of innocent teenagers, that’s criminal! Introducing the cigarette manufacturers.

Cigarette manufactures have been researching the fads and trends of today’s teens and using this information against us. Selling a product that could potentially shorten innocent lives; now thats just outrageous! They are using many different techniques to lure teenagers into buying their products that have a slim, glamourous and intriguing packing. They do whatever they can to appeal to the teenaged market.

Some cigarette companies add menthol to their cigarettes which decreases the smell on their clothing and breath, making it easier for teens to smoke without their parents getting suspicious. Unfortunately, adding menthol to tobacco causes the nicotine to get to the brain faster increasing the addictive potential of a cigarette. (The faster nicotine binds to the nicotine receptors in the brain, and releases dopamine, a hormone that makes you feel pleasure and satisfaction, the higher the potential for addiction.) Their manufacturing techniques make it easier for teens to cover their acts of smoking cigarettes.

Not only have they hidden the smell of cigarettes, they have also camouflaged the packaging.

Is it just coincidence that this package looks like and i-pod? Giving teens confidence that they can successfully hide their smoking will increase teen buyers. They have also made cigarette cases in the shape of mascara containers, chocolate bars, a deck of cards and designer Louis Vuitton clutches to help teens conceal their cigarettes from their parents and guardians. Pretty ingenious on their part!

Where as a regular pack of cigarettes contains 20 cigarettes for around $10, cigarette companies have created mini pack of 4 or 5 cigarettes. I suspect the reason for this is two - fold, again to target teens. Firstly, the small packaging is easy for teens to conceal and contains the perfect amount of cigarettes if they are only planning to smoke at a party or on the weekend with their friends. Secondly, the small packages are a low, affordable price of $3.00, which just happens to be the same price of a bag of chips and a can of pop. These people have thought of everything! Luckily, the government has rallied to stop advertising on the radio, television and magazines in Canada. It is also suing the British Tobacco Company for the health care costs due to the harmful effects of smoking.

Not only have they made cigarettes affordable, accessible and easy to hide from their parents, they have also made them more interesting, tasty and enjoyable by adding crazy flavours. Making the cigarettes have yummy and fun flavours like strawberry, bubblegum, chocolate, peanut butter and jelly, tropical passion and mint would make the smoke more pleasing to us teens instead of just the nauseating taste of cigarettes. They say they are not targeting teens, but when we look at how they have added the above elements into their products it makes that statement laughable. Of course they are targeting teenagers, they have thought of absolutely everything to reel us in!

Unfortunately, nicotine is the most addictive substance on the market. More addictive than marijuana, cocaine, and alcohol. Starting to smoke cigarettes before the age of 18 predicts a higher rate of addiction in the future. Since these ads are targeting teens, they will get them started young causing them a lifetime of negative health effects in the future, including cancers, lung disease (COPD), and heart disease.Trying to seduce you into buying a product that will harm you in the end is murder! Doing this to children is infanticide!