Tobacco Industry

  • The Canadian tobacco industry spends about $20 million a year on marketing and promotion.
  • The Tobacco Act bans tobacco companies from promoting their brand elements by sponsorship of sports, culture and other events.
  • The largest Canadian tobacco company, Imperial Tobacco, made about $900 million in operating earnings for 2000. It is owned by British American Tobacco in the UK which also controls an American manufacturer, Brown and Williamson.
  • About 50 billion cigarettes are made in Canada every year (including self-rolled). 1

Why target youth?

The tobacco industry needs to replace approximately 48,000 Canadians who die every year from tobacco use, so they turn to youth as replacements.

Young people have money to spend. It is estimated that Canadian youth (ages 12-19) spend more than 400 million dollars a year on cigarettes. 2 The youth market represents the best opportunity to maintain or increase sales, revenues and profits for tobacco companies.3

Tobacco companies need you!

They know that most adult smokers started in their teens. And when tobacco is glamorized in media that you pay attention to -- movies, music videos, television -- it provides a powerful message, often subliminal, that smoking is a legitimate and even desirable activity. The World Health Organization says that young people who may feel the least secure socially are the hardest hit by the games that the tobacco industry plays. 1

Check out Health Canada’s site on the tobacco industry at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hc-ps/tobac-tabac/youth-jeunes/index-eng.php

References

  1. www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hl-vs/tobac-tabac/youth-jeunes/scoop-primeur/indust/index_e.html
  2. National Clearinghouse on Tobacco and Health, (January 1993). Youth and Tobacco: The Adolescent Tobacco Market in Canada, Fact Sheet.
  3. Council For A Tobacco-Free Ontario, (1994). Smoking ...it’s not a pretty picture! Counter-Advertising Action Guide.