For the last assignment we were asked to pick a book and a journal about our chosen topic which in my case is smoking but after looking for journal I found it better to use two books . Then we were write about a summary on both of then then conclude with how they compare to each other.
I have chosen the book ‘Does Advertising Increase Smoking?’ by Hugh High, as it relates to my chosen area and will help me gain more information on whether advertising really does influence young people in particular to smoke or not. From the start of the book it talks about how the law has been proposed to be brought in to ban all tobacco advertising, which was not only happening in the United Kingdom but also in America. The writer is saying that advertising is not used to increase the number of people who use the product, but to inform people of new products not to promote the brand.
Through out the book there are a number of different studies/reports that have been used to help support what Hugh High is trying to get across. He is also saying that looking at such information to prove that the ban should be put in place for example New Zealand Dept. of Health, Toxic Substances Board, Health or Tobacco: an End to Tobacco Advertising and Promotion did not contain the right data and has been flawed in the way the percentages have been reached. There were further studies taken after these reports by The British Health Department which reveals the weaknesses within the studies before 1993. It has been said that tobacco advertising induces people to smoke especially young people but there are no facts that state this is 100 percent true. Although it has said if the ban came into action it may lessen the chance of young people to smoke as the point of the ban would be to protect them.
It moves away from advertising to what really determines the young to start smoking which mostly came up as family and peers, there have been a number of reports and articles that suggest if one family member is a smoking the child is then more likely to also take up the habit. In many studies is states that if one parent smokes the child is twice as likely to start than if none of the parents smoked, but if both parents smoke then the chances increases to four times and 90 percent if the child’s best friend smokes. These opinions have been strongly backed up with a number of different resources which makes them seem a lot more accurate.
The books comes to conclude in the end that there is not enough information to state that the advertising campaigns are what makes young people smoke but that it is most likely that the influence from family and mostly peers is why there is such a large amount of young people smoking. Although the writer has written has this is an assumption as there are not enough facts to say this is true. It is good that it has ended at that comment as there does not seem to be enough information to state it as a fact that it is advertising that makes young people smoke.
After looking at a number of journals, I did not feel that they were very relevant to my chosen topic so I chose to look at another book. I chose ‘Persuasion in Advertising’ by John O’Shaugnessy and Nicholas O’Shaugnessy. The book looks at advertising in general for most things and says that if anyone is disappointed in a product not only cigarette/tobacco this is because they have been let down with the expectations of the product. From reading the whole book I decided to look in depth at the part which specifically talks about smoking and the way which packaging, and advertising makes people what to smoke. Also why people want to buy that specific brand of cigarette. It talks about the way people see smoking, and how the advertising will make you look, this gives off a positive emotion towards smoking as many companies try to avoid going near the point that it kills you.
There is a point in the book where it talks about the entrepreneur B.J. Cunningham who started a tobacco company called ‘Enlightened Tobacco’ in 1991 which instead of having a standard package it was completely different and was introduced to get the point across that it will kill you in the long term. The companies identity was designed by Denison Design, they made the packet look like a small coffin in black. These packets were such a change to the way others were designed and received a lot of attention. With those who bought this brand of cigarettes they were saying,
‘yes I’m kidding myself, but at least I know it, and I smoke a brand which doesn’t try to hide the fact.’
This brought the company a small amount of customer as most people did not want to be seen thinking that or taking that type of packet out of there pocket. Cunningham also brought up the point,
‘..expose the hypocrisy behind the smoking industry: governments cannot afford to ban smoking because they receive huge amounts of money from it in tax:’
This statement does not have any information to support this, but it is mostly likely to be true as it is such a harmful substance why has it not been banned yet.
Back to the advertising side of smoking it has been said that the reason anti-smoking campaigns were such a success was because especially in America they were about what passive smoking was doing to others health. It seems that people care more about others health rather than there own, but is saying this the book does not have any statistics to support this comment which could therefore mean that this statement is incorrect.
The points made in this book about advertising in regards to smoking and tobacco make since but it would be better if there were articles or reports giving facts to prove that some of the things said were in fact correct. There are some points where there has been relation to an external source in the book but nothing from it has been included which I think would have more effect on the information being given.
After reading both of these books, they talk about different areas concerning smoking but both relate back to the advertising side of it. The second book I chose has really went into detail about the advertising of the packaging of the cigarette packets where as the first book talks about advertising campaigns and how they relate to why people start smoking.
In the first book it comes to conclude that maybe there is more to the reasons behind smoking than just advertising and the law, which although the second book is saying that advertising and design has a lot to do with it. It is also saying that people want to have there own opinion on things as well as saying something about themselves. People don’t want to buy a certain packet because of the way it looks not because of the way it is advertised. I feel that advertising do not play a vital part in depending on if you are going to smoke or not. I think that it is partly down to what they first book was saying about peer pressure and family influence. With advertising campaigns on smoking being banned I can not see how much of a difference it would make as there is no facts in theses books to support this but you can still get influence to smoke by seeing the packets in shops the anti-smoking campaigns etc.
Each of the books talk about different things which makes it hard to bring them together but they are both saying that there is a lot more to the influences rather than just the advertising. The first book thinks people around you are the most influential and then the second book thinks its more to do with the design of the products. Neither of the books state that they think specifically advertising is the main source for influencing people to smoke.
From both books I have found that it is hard to be able to decide which information is correct and how to know which sources to believe. Although in the first book there is evidence to support some of the statements it then points out that this evidence is not correctly worked out which therefore does not support it. In conclusion it is hard to work out and believe if advertising really does influence people to smoke or could it be down to the people that they are round on a day to day basis.
Bibliography
High, H. (1991). Does Advertising Increase Smoking?. The Institute of Economic Affairs. London.
O’Shaughnessy, J. O’Shaughnessy, N. (2003). Persuasion in Advertising. Routledge.
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