Fighting Against

Corporate Tobacco

Everyone Knows…

• Tobacco abuse is bad for you• Cancer

• Heart disease• Emphysema • Cough• Yellow teeth• Smell

But…Teens Still Abuse Tobacco

• 17.7% of Wisconsin high schoolers are regular smokers

• That’s 57,200 teens!• Almost 3.5 times the population of

Sawyer County

So the BIG Question Is

WHY?• Peer pressure

• Parent(s)/Guardian(s) smoke

• Want to fit in/look cool

• Boredom

#1 Reason People Abuse Tobacco Is…

BIG TOBACCO

Why Do They Do It?

From the Mouth- of Philip Morris :

“Our one all-consuming ambition is to create wealth for the owners of Philip Morris. "

Why Teens?

• The earlier you start smoking, the more likely you are to become strongly addicted to nicotine.

• Teens are extremely brand-loyal.

• 88% of smokers started at or before age 18.

• Teens are more likely to ignore the future health consequences of their actions.

Meet Big Tobacco"It is important to know

as much as possible about teenage smoking patterns and attitudes.

Today's teenager is tomorrow's potential

regular customer . . .”1981 Philip Morris market research report on

young smokers

We Don’t Want Children to Smoke…

“We do not want children to smoke -- not only because it is

illegal to sell cigarettes to minors in every state, but also

because children lack the maturity of judgment to assess the health risks associated with

smoking.”“Working for a Tobacco Company” http://www.rjrt.com/careers/COhr_working.asp

Reynolds American Tobacco Company, 2004

How They Get You

• Research – The tobacco industry studies you to learn exactly what you want and how to give it to you.

• Branding – The industry creates brands that appeal to teens.

• Advertising – They promote those brands anywhere and everywhere.

Branding

• Teens LOVE brands.• Teens use brands to signal who

they are.• Brands say something about the

people that own or use them.

• Marlboro is one of the most powerful brands ever created.

Branding

McDonalds

Branding

Facebook

Branding

Target

Branding

Monster

Branding

Merrill Lynch

Branding

Branding

Big Tobacco Marketing

Budget• Apple, Inc. made 8.24 billion

dollars in profits in 2009

• That’s nothing…Big Tobacco spent over $12.8 billion in just their advertising

• That’s over 35 million dollars per day

Big Tobacco in WI

• Big Tobacco spends an estimated $274,000,000 in advertising in WI alone!

• That could buy a iPhone 5 for EVERYONE under the age of 18 in WI

Big Tobacco Marketing

How They Keep You

“Tobacco products uniquely contain and deliver nicotine, a potent drug with a variety of physiological effects."

1972 RJR research and planning memo

How They Keep You

• The tobacco industry treats nicotine as a drug and adds ammonia to speed inhaled nicotine to the brain. • Between 1998 and 2004 Big Tobacco increased nicotine levels in cigarettes by over 10%2006 Massachusetts Department of Public Health study

Lies, Lies, Lies, Lies

Big Tobacco once said:

“Cigarettes are no more addictive than Twinkies”

Tobacco Death Toll in WI

Fighting Back With FACT

• Youth-led movement –5,000+ members

• Not a “Don’t smoke” campaign• Taking action through FACTivism• Not against smokers• Countering Big Tobacco’s marketing• Reversing Big Tobacco’s deadly

trends

Fighting Big Tobacco in

WI• FACT + activism = FACTivism

• Activism: Any action that seeks to bring about change

• Your are a FACTivist!

Making a Message

StickGetting Attention

Making a Connection

Providing Information

FACTivism

FACT Has Made An IMPACT!• Helped decrease youth smoking

rate from 33% (in ‘01) to 17% (in ‘09)

• Instrumental in making WI smoke-free

• Advocated for cigarette tax increases

• Empowered thousands of WI teens

The Fight Isn’t Over

Big Tobacco’s new products may smell and look like candy but they are far from it!

www.fightwithFACT.com

Design a custom profile>>>Get FACTivism ideas>>>Earn FREE FACT gear!

If Nothing Happens…They

Win

Reverse the Trend

Fight with FACT