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August 09, 1995 - Image 9

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Publication:
Michigan Daily Summer Weekly, 1995-08-09

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Wednesday, August 9, 1995 - The Michigan Daily -- 9

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RJR Nabisco Cos. owns Camel, Winston,
Salem and Doral brands of cigarettes.
For the first quarter of 1995, RJR Nabisco
suffered a loss in its operating income, which
sank 4 percent to $370 million.

Kckng the habit goes pasta D --you-w...
SIn 1991, 5,601 Michigar
* -11died from smoking-related
illnesses. One out of five d
stic f eys or a patch Michigan are directly relate

n women
eaths in .
d to

Smoking may kill, but quitting is pain-
ful, too.
"I guess I quit smoking about once a
month and usually it will work for the
first three to four days, then I'll start
smoking again," said Nicole Dunwoodie,
a School of Art sophomore.
Despite repeated relapses, Dunwoodie
said she is not discouraged. "I won't quit
quitting until I'm a non-smoker," she said.
Chris Jenema, an Ann Arbor resident,
said that he has also tried quitting, and
was equally unsuccessful. "(I've tried to
quit) three or four times," he said. "But it
didn't work because I need them. The
nicotine withdrawal was too much."
Jenema also said he spends more
money on cigarettes than on food.
Health advocates and smokers disagre
on the reasons why people are able to stop
smoking. Gen Stewart, a formerhealthedu-
cation coordinator at University Health Ser-
vice, said that some smokers quit because
they feel smoking is too addictive.
"(Smokers who quit are) really tired
of being ruled by a substance like nico-
tine. They want to control how they
spend their time and money," she said.
Wendy Kerschbaum, associate pro-
fessor and director of dental hygiene in
the department of periodontics, prevention

If you want to quit
UHS offers several cessation
programs. Call 764-8320 or Narcotics
Anonymous at 810-543-7200.
and geriatrics, said that quitting requires
more than settinga deadline.
"To quit (involves) a structured pro-
gram that involves behavioral change and
management of withdrawal symptoms,"
she said.
Ann Arbor resident Stacey Domino
said that she tried to quit by switching
brands, but ended up liking a different
type of cigarette in the process.
"I switched (from menthol cigarettes)
because I thought I might not like non-
menthol, but I decided I liked them. ... I
kind of always try to quit ... but it's an
addiction," she said.
Stewart said replacement treatment
- substituting nicotine patches for ciga-
rettes - may reduce the stress that smok-
ers experience from nicotine deprivation.
"Nicotine patches really do help
some people a lot, but they are not for ev-
eryone.... They help people focus on the
more psychological (aspects) of smok-
ing," she said. Stewart said some psycho-
logical aspects are smoking at a meal or

while talking on the phone.
An adjustment in behavior, like chang-
ing a peer group, may be necessary to quit.
"Smokers associate with smokers,"
said James Bergman, former executive
head of Stop Teenage Addiction to To-
bacco, a public policy group based in
Springfield, Mass. "If they try to quit they
will be asked why they are not smoking."
In the January 1995 issue of the Jour-
nal of the American Medical Association,
Dr. Susan H. Swartz from the Seattle Vet-
erans Administration Medical Center said a
smoker must address the physical and psy-
chological addiction to quit.
"(There is) no convincing evidence
that using (nicotine) patches with little or
no counseling in a general medical setting
would be an effective intervention or pro-
vide significant cost savings," she said.
Dianne May, a consultant at the
Michigan Department of Public Heahh,
said that people underestimate the addic-
tive nature of cigarette smoking.
"Approximately 15 percent of the
people who use alcohol are addicted, for
opiates 60 percent, tobacco is about 90
percent or higher," she said.
Domino said that health hazards are
not a motivation to quit. "I'll quit when I
can't afford (to buy cigarettes)," she said.

Michigan women have the third
highest smoking rate in the
country.
. More than 35 percent of
Michigan babies are born to
smoking mothers.
A 1992 study showed that the
Joe Camel cartoon is as
recognizable to a 6-year-old as
Mickey Mouse.
* More than $2.7 billion is spent
annually in the United States to
promote smoking

dvertising ranges from glamour to truth

igns and items increased by 264 percent
1990.
dames Bergman, the former executive
rector of Stop Teenage Addiction to
>bacco, a public policy group in Spring-
Id, Mass., asserted that cigarette adver-
ements target children. Bergman said
at RJR Nabisco Cos.'s Joe Camel cam-
'gn, which consists of a cartoon charac-
r with bold purple, yellow and blue col-
appealed to children.
"(Camel) was basically a middle-
white man's cigarette and turned
a youth cigarette," Bergman said, re-
g to a Camel ad that featured a
le-aged white man.
Bergman said that after Joe Camel re-
hced the photo-based campaign RJR
ibisco's share of the under-18 market
nped from 1 percent to 33 percent by 1995.
Communication studies lecturer Joan
at enstein, said that it is product visibility
location that determine consumption.
-"People will almost subliminally want
'purchase that brand, even though they
not consciously think, 'I see (the
o) on a blimp, I want ... this," she said.
Targeting is a concern because adults
61 children interpret advertising differ-
. "(Children) will take an ad at face
she said.

Young Smokers
Critics say cigarette companies direct their ads at young people. The companies
deny it. A recent survey found young people are smoking more than ever.
0 35 -32.9% a ~
S29.0% . 12th Grade
30.-Males
o . 25-27.5%12th Grade
a 22-5.4% Females
} c 20 20. % 10~ier
s 15 18.6% 10th Graders
10 14.% 8th Graders
1991 1992 1993 1994
Source The Un ersl s Montor gte Future study ONA THAN BERNDTDa y

Lowenstein said advertising is not lim-
ited. "A lot of movies have young people
smoking all the time. Look at things like
'Pulp Fiction'," she said.
Bergman said that minors do not re-
alize that they are influenced by advertis-
ing on billboards, in magazines, or by
promotional items.
"It's like buying a car - there is
something about the image. ... I think
people don't want to admit they can be
manipulated by advertising," he said.
Some smokers, however, are skepti-
cal of the advertising's power.
"People keep propagating the myth
that people start smoking because of adver-

tisements. ... Smoking is an enjoyable
thing to do," said Ann Arbor resident
Joanna Ingalls. "There is-a reason people
have been smoking for a long time."
Ingalls also derided the idea that pro-
motional items attract smokers. "I don't
collect Camel Cash or Marlboro Miles.
Non-smokers do not realize how much
there is a smoking culture," she said.
Camel is now on its sixth edition of
its Camel gearcatalog. Marlborostarted its
campaign after Camel, and it is also a suc-
cess. "Within six months, (Philip Morris)
had gotten hundreds of thousands of re-
quests for the (Marlboro) catalogues and
gear," Bergman said.

Lloyd D. Johnston, a research scientist
at the University, said the appeal of adver-
tising is the promise of vitality.
"Cigarette advertising is continually
associated with social success, sexual at-
tractiveness, a healthy demeanor, excit-
ing sporting activities, a cool and tough
image for the boys, a slender body and
liberated spirit for the girls, autonomy
and independence for both sexes, and so
on," he said in a press release.
Some companies, such as Death To-
bacco, market their cigarettes with a skull
and cross bones and an anti-smoking mes-
sage.
"Death cigarettes are one thing - they
are cigarettes. They are selling cigarettes,
not their message. They say they are a
parody. They are selling cigarettes to get
money. What's the statement? Rebellion. l
don't really give a damn,"' Bergman said.
Ann Arbor resident Scott Simpson said
Death's advertising is not a deterrent. "Ithink
it's funny," he said. "It's kind of like why
people buy the Love-Potion drinks."
Peter Kang, manager at the Blue
Front convenience store, said that the
'honest' cigarettes sell for novelty pur-
poses. "Pure doesn't sell very much.
Hardly at all, .... People buy Pure out of
curiosity." he said.

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