Underage consumption: Deceptive marketing increasing tobacco use among youth

Report calls for implementation of laws to restrict consumption

ISLAMABAD: Multinational cigarette manufacturing companies are systematically targeting children as young as six  by using aggressive marketing techniques and placement of advertisements.

This was the crux of a national survey titled “Monitoring of Tobacco Advertising, Promotion, Sponsorship and Point of Sale Advertising” conducted by the Network for Consumer Protection.

The survey was conducted in six major cities including Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi,and Quetta with  500  sales points monitored overall.

The report stated that advertisements are placed on shops selling candies and chocolates as well as directly outside the gates of primary and secondary schools throughout the country.

The survey is the first of its kind in the country to expose marketing techniques used by marketing companies to attract the youth towards tobacco consumption.



The spokesperson for the network Dr Maria Qureshi said that “the egregious marketing tactics used by multinational and local tobacco manufacturers is a clear violation of the law.”

Similarly, 34 per cent children are exposed to second-hand smoke in public places, whereas almost 20 per cent children were observed to smoke inside schools.

Interestingly, almost 87 per cent of current cigarette smokers purchased them from a store, shop, vendor, kiosk, school canteen, or pharmacy.

Senator Nasreen Jalil speaking at the event said that “It is an uphill task to control tobacco use and to take action against multinational cigarette manufacturers, but we have to do it at any cost”.

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan IR Rehman said that a nationwide movement should be started by civil society to curb this these acts of tobacco manufacturers.

The network’s CEO Nadeem Iqbal requested the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP) to take action against the deceptive marketing practices in the industry.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 25^th, 2016.