LTPB Research
In order for LTPB to provide the very best programming, everyone involved
is asked to participate in program evaluation.
LTPB researchers study:
- Smoking intentions and behaviors of university
and college students - Preferred
methods of smoking cessation - Effectiveness of self-help
programs for young adults - Ways to counter
tobacco marketing and build young adults’ resistance
to marketing
Why is LTPB on campuses?
The tobacco companies use countless activities to promote their products.
Until just a while ago, many of their strategies focused on enticing
under-age adolescents to smoke. But, recent court cases, legislation
and widespread, negative social reactions to those strategies have led
tobacco companies to revise their focus. And guess what? You are their
new focus.
Now tobacco companies use diverse marketing and promotional activities
to create an environment in which tobacco products have positive lifestyle
associations for you, the young adult consumer. Here are just a few of
the tactics currently being used:
- Bar and Club events: They bring in
hot musical artists, glitz up the bar, and add in a few good stage
effects. Hey, how can you help but appreciate
the tobacco company for that? Well, you might be less appreciative
if you consider the fact that tobacco companies are adding you (and
every other patron) to their database. (Yes, another company with too
much
personal info about you; ready to send you junk mail and sell your
name
to telemarketers). And hopefully, you don’t mind the monopolistic
contract requiring the bar to pay a fee and sign an exclusivity contract
with them in return for the event. And how much can you appreciate tobacco
company sponsorship knowing that the women employed as ‘cigarette
girls’ (mostly non-smokers) are more likely to be sexually harassed
than they are to sell cigarettes? Oh yes… Don’t forget that
you work for the tobacco company too – no pay, of course. Whenever
you pull out that branded lighter, throw on the logo t-shirt, or
play that free CD, you are doing free advertising for them. Feel
exploited
yet? - Bar promotions: Posters and signs promoting cigarettes
are placed throughout your favourite bars – even in the bathrooms! - Print
advertising: Every single week, tobacco ads appear in university
and college campus newspapers. - ‘Light’ and ‘Mild’ labeling of cigarettes:
There’s an old saying, “A rose by any other name would
smell as sweet.” The updated version is this: A cigarette
with any other label is just as deadly. Tobacco companies use labels
as a marketing
ploy to make people think of certain cigarettes as ‘healthier’ or ‘safer.’ The
TRUTH is: when humans smoke cigarettes – whether they are
light, mild, special, smooth regular, whatever! – a similar
amount of noxious, deadly tar is delivered into the lungs. And,
the same poisonous
chemical mix is breathed out into the air as second-hand smoke.
Don’t
be fooled.
In Canada, smoking is on the decline. This means that the tobacco companies
need a constant influx of new youth smokers in order to make up for the
adult consumers who are quitting – or dying from tobacco-related
causes. College and university students are the perfect target; young,
smart, and tomorrow’s leaders. LTPB is on campus to counterbalance
tobacco companies’ presence, to provide information about smoking
and the tobacco industry, to promote healthy lifestyle choices for smokers
and non-smokers, and to support individuals’ efforts to reduce
their own tobacco use. LTPB is needed on Ontario university and college
campus to inform students about the risks and hazards of being the most
prized market segment for tobacco companies.