Does cigarette print advertising adhere to the tobacco institute's voluntary advertising and promotion code? An assessment

Objectives. This investigation examined whether, despite the Tobacco Instit ute's Voluntary Cigarette Advertising and Promotion Code, current cigarette print advertising communicates culturally positive messages to youth about smoking. Methods. Nine hundred thirteen students in grades 6-8 (ages 10-15) were sho wn a sample of four contemporary cigarette print ads (Camel, Marlboro, Newp ort, and Virginia Slims) and completed structured written assessments desig ned to capture their perceptions of each ad. Results. Across the four ads, between 37% and 84% of the students reported that the ads communicated to them that smoking will make people popular, co ol, successful in life, sexy, attractive, and healthy. Sizeable percentages of students reported that the ads show people using the product in an "exa ggerated" way, and that what people in the ads are doing requires "exercise and physical energy." The median estimated age of the models in the ads wa s under age 25 for four out of the six models. Conclusions. As perceived by adolescents, current cigarette print advertisi ng violates basic tenets of the Voluntary Code, thus bringing into question the tobacco industry's ability to self-regulate image advertising. These f indings suggest that the FDA ruling to prohibit image advertising for tobac co in publications with significant youth readership deserves serious consi deration.