Women, Girls and Smoking: Dispelling the Myths, Countering the Messages

Toll of Tobacco on Indiana

•

Leading cause of preventable death

•

Kills more than

9,700 Hoosiers

each year

• • •

3,800 of those who die prematurely each year are women 22% of adult women are current smokers 23% of high school girls are current smokers

•

Tobacco use by women results in $750.6 Million in direct health care costs for Indiana -- every year.

•

Nearly 90% of lung cancer cases

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1/3 of ALL cancer deaths and

•

1 in 5 deaths from heart disease are related to tobacco use

TOBACCO COMPANIES TARGET WOMEN AND GIRLS

1930’s 1950’s

1970’s

1984

1990’s

2000

Time April 28, 2003 8% Youth Readership 1.8 Million Youth Readers

Cosmopolitan, May 2003

Entertainment Weekly February 27, 2004

From the Industry’s Documents

“Actually, one of their main terminal values is to look attractive. In other words, a woman cannot be attractive if she is fat. Aerobics (gym) is therefore one of their major activities, when they do not try to meet the opposite sex in parties, bars or discotheques. This is their conception of having an exciting life for the time being.”

- Philip Morris, 1993

“ Specifically, these young adult females agree that smoking is: attractive to the opposite sex, sophisticated/stylish, less intelligent, more aggressive, more mature, less feminine, smoke because friends do, feel more comfortable around others, feel that I'm rebelling…”

- RJ Reynolds, 1982

…attractive to the opposite sex

…sophisticated/stylish

,

…less intelligent,

…more aggressive, … less feminine

…smoke because friends do,

…feel that I'm rebelling…

The newest

“focus on products that are ‘wow,’ ” and “that add fun and excitement to the category.” Cressida Lozano, Vice President for Marketing of the Camel brand

Full page ads started in January 2007 and are now running in:

• • • • • • • •

InStyle Cosmopolitan Marie Claire Vogue Elle Glamour Newsweek Lucky

No. 9 parties – “ladies only” nights

• Booths offering facials, manicures, makeup and hair styling • Bags full of treats: pink mirror, cell phone accessories, make up, invite to next event • AND CIGARETTES • New drink to honor the new brand – the Divine Nine martini

Indianapolis Events

• March 21 and March 28 • DJ concert and fashion show • Popular night clubs

Direct Mail Marketing Targets Girls

AND THE TARGETED MARKETING WORKS...

Six years after the introduction of Virginia Slims in 1968 the rate of smoking initiation for 12 year old girls had increased 110%.

Currently, smoking rates for INDIANA middle school girls are higher than for middle school boys: 8.3% of girls and 7.1% of boys Who do these young girls look to for role models?

30%

of women ages 18-24 are smokers

STOP

YOU’RE KILLING ME

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death for women in Indiana

6,600

deaths are attributed to lung cancer every year compared to 3,696 deaths from breast cancer (2000-2003)

50 40 Cancer Death Rates*, for Women, US,1930-2003 Rate Per 100,000 Lung & bronchus Uterus Breast 30 Colon & rectum Stomach 20 10 0 Ovary Pancreas *Age-adjusted to the 2000 US standard population.

Source: US Mortality Public Use Data Tapes 1960-2003, US Mortality Volumes 1930-1959, National Center for Health Statistics, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2006.

40 35 45

Lung Cancer Death Rates and Smoking Trends Among Women, 1974-2003

Lung & Bronchus Death Rate (per 100,000) Current Women Smokers 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 1974 1979 1983 1985 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 Sources: National Health Interview Survey, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

•

Former smokers have a higher risk of developing lung cancer than non-smokers. Quitting arrests your risk at the level at which you quit, but will never reduce it to the level of a non-smoker.

•

In a recent study in New York, a woman with the same smoking history as a man was 2X as likely to be diagnosed with lung cancer.

Source: NCI, 2003

This is Equality?

• In 2000, the number of Chronic

Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) deaths in women exceeded those in men for the first time.

• About 90% of COPD deaths among

U.S. women are attributed to smoking.

Cardiovascular disease is the

#1 killer

of women.

More women than men die from heart disease.

Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Trends for Males and Females

United States: 1979 - 1998 520 500 480 460 440 420 400 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 Source: CDC/NCHS and the American Heart Association Males Females

Women smokers have unique health risks:

• •

Increased risk of cervical and vulvar cancers Increased risk of osteoporosis

•

Increased risk of breast cancer

Women smokers have unique health risks:

• • • • • •

Problems with reproductive health:

Early menopause Reduced fertility Reduces the effectiveness of the pill Increased risk of stroke and other serious side effects if taking birth control pills Increased rates of premature delivery Likelier to have low-birthweight babies

Women smokers have unique health risks: Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke are major causes of:

• • •

spontaneous abortions stillbirths SIDS

And if our hearts, lungs, breasts, reproductive organs, & kids were not enough…

“Smokers Face” Almost half of long-term smokers are identifiable by their visible skin damage:

• deep lines and wrinkles, • worn, leathery appearance • pigmented (purple and red) • gray appearance

making them look they are.

older then British Medical Journal, 1985

Okay, so smoking is bad for me .

But I smoke lights, so it’s not that bad…

Institute of Medicine study 2000 “The weight of the evidence indicates that lower-tar and nicotine yield cigarettes have not reduced the risk of disease …”

The Low-Tar Lie

A November 2001 National Cancer Institute study found that: • “Light” and “low-tar” cigarettes are no less harmful than other brands • “Light” and “low-tar” do not reduce a smokers’ health risks • Tobacco industry deliberately marketed low-tar cigarettes to prevent smokers from quitting • Tobacco companies deliberately developed low-tar products which tested safer by machines but were just as dangerous when actually smoked

The Low-Tar Lie

In August 2006, Federal Judge Gladys Kessler found the tobacco industry guilty of racketeering charges and stated in her opinion that: • “Defendants Falsely Marketed and Promoted Low Tar/Light Cigarettes as Less Harmful than Full-Flavor Cigarettes in Order to Keep People Smoking and Sustain Corporate Revenues” • “Despite their Internal Knowledge, Defendants’ Marketing and Public Statements About Low Tar Cigarettes Continue to Suggest that They Are Less Harmful than Full-Flavor Cigarettes”

Women & Low Tar/Light Products

•

Women (63%) are more likely to smoke light or ultra-light cigarettes than men (46%)

•

Almost half of female high school smokers smoke light cigarettes

“But I only smoke when I go out …so I’m not really a smoker.”

Most regular (daily) smokers start out as social (occasional) smokers.

Addiction can develop

Quickly:

The first symptoms of addiction can appear within weeks or even

days

of beginning occasional smoking 1 in 3 of those ever using tobacco become addicted.

Tobacco is killing our daughters, mothers, aunts, friends, and us.

100% preventable You can do something!

Do Something

 2.

Contact your legislator and ask him/her to support an increase in the cigarette tax and the Healthy Indiana Plan.

Write a letter to the editor of women’s magazines that are running tobacco ads.

3. Support passage of legislation to give FDA authority to regulate tobacco.

Do Something

4. Promote the Indiana Tobacco Quit Line: 1-800-QUIT-NOW (784-8669).

5. Empower youth to fight back against the tobacco industry and encourage them to get involved at www.Voice.tv

. 6. Give your business to venues that are smoke free; actively support local smoke free air laws in all workplaces.

Do Something

7. Establish policies in your worksite, community center, health care facility, or faith based organization that protect everyone from second hand smoke. 8.

Provide incentives to employees who don’t smoke or quit smoking and offer cessation resources.

9. Contact 9 women you know, share information from this forum, and ask them to do the Top 9 List as well!