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Excerpts from: Joe Camel's Alter Ego

 By Edward Edelson HealthScout Reporter   HealthScout: Watching the Medical World for News About You  [12/14/00]
 
                    

                    Cartoons are effective antismoking messages, too
 
 
                    The same kind of cartoon character in ads that get
                    kids hooked on cigarettes is effective as a
                    warning for youngsters against the dangers of
                    smoking, a study finds.

                    And the most effective warning links a cartoon
                    character with a detailed message about the
                    specific health damages that smoking does, rather
                    than a terse "Smoking kills" statement, says a
                    survey of 580 Chicago children from
                    kindergarten up to 12th grade. It appears in the
                    December issue of Archives of Pediatrics and
                    Adolescent Medicine.

                    All the children rated the cartoon characters
                    significantly more believable than just a plain
                    statement of danger, the researchers found. And
                    the detailed message was rated higher than the
                    plain "Smoking kills" statement, with or without a
                    cartoon character. One disturbing finding was
                    that young people who already were smokers
                    rated both warning labels significantly less
                    important, with or without a cartoon character.

                    The study is "further confirmation that cartoon
                    characters attract kids," says John Banzhaf,
                    executive director of Action on Smoking and
                    Health, a Washington-based organization. "It
                    strengthens the argument that cigarette
                    advertisements should not have cartoon
                    characters in them, if necessary prohibited by
                    law."

                    As part of the multibillion tobacco agreement of
                    1998, tobacco companies agreed to stop using
                    cartoon characters as pitchmen.

                    It also shows the importance of research on the
                    best way to tell young people about the dangers
                    of smoking, Banzhaf says. "Here we have a
                    product that costs $138 billion a year in health
                    care and kills up to 500,000 people a year, yet
                    we don't know enough about how effective
                    different warnings are," he says.

                    The strong effect of pictorial warnings is already
                    being put into effect in some countries, he says.
                    "Canada recently adopted some very effective
                    and graphic warnings, using pictures of such
                    things as lung cancer," Banzhaf says. "Almost
                    anything is better than just a black-on-white text."
 

                    What To Do

                    Parents should impress on children the
                    importance of not starting to smoke. Young
                    smokers usually think they can quit in a couple of
                    years, so they think it is safe to smoke as a sign
                    of sophistication, Banzhaf says. "They don't
                    understand the concept of addiction," he says.