Recognition of cigarette brand names and logos by primary schoolchildren in Ankara, Turkey

Objective-To assess the smoking behaviour of primary schoolchildren and the ir ability to recognise brand names and logos of widely advertised cigarett es, compared with other commercial products intended for children. Design-Cross-sectional survey in classroom settings using a questionnaire d esigned to measure attitudes towards smoking and the recognition of brand n ames and logos for 16 food, beverage, cigarette, and toothpaste products. S etting-Ankara, Turkey. Subjects-1093 children (54.6% boys, 44.4% girls) age d 7-13 years (mean = 10, SD = 1), from grades 2-5. The student sample was t aken from three primary schools-one school in each of three residential dis tricts representing high, middle, and low income populations. Main outcome measures- Prevalence of ever-smoking, recognition of brand names and logos. Results-Prevalence of ever-smoking was 11.7% overall (13.9% among boys and 9.1% among girls; p<0.05). Children aged eight years or less had a higher p revalence of ever-smoking (19.6%) than older children (p<0.002). Ever-smoki ng prevalence did not differ significantly across the three school district s. Ever-smoking prevalence was higher among children with at least one pare nt who smoked (15.3%) than among those whose parents did not (4.8%) (p<0.00 1). Brand recognition rates ranged from 58.1% for Chee-tos (a food product) to 95.2% for Samsun (a Turkish cigarette brand). Recognition rates for cig arette brand names and logos were 95.2% and 80.8%, respectively, for Samsun ; 84.0% and 90.5%, respectively, for Camel; and 92.1% and 69.5%, respective ly, for Marlboro. The Camel logo and the Samsun and Marlboro brand names we re the most highly recognised of all product logos and brand names tested. Conclusions-The high recognition of cigarette brand names and logos is most likely the result of tobacco advertising and promotion. Our results indica te the need to implement comprehensive tobacco control measures in Turkey.