Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019 | 2 a.m.
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As the numbers of deaths and health problems related to e-cigarettes keep skyrocketing, responsible broadcasters are doing their part to address the problem.
Such major media companies as CBS, Viacom and WarnerMedia recently pulled ads for e-cigarette makers amid mounting concern over health threats related to vaping products.
It’s the right thing to do. Other broadcasters should follow suit, given the potential for nicotine addiction among e-cigarette users and the proven health hazards of tobacco use.
Eliminating TV advertising for the products would help, particularly in protecting the health of young people. For proof, look no further than to the effects of bans on cigarette advertising, which played a large role in reducing the smoking rate among 18-year-olds to less than 4% in 2018 — down from a whopping 28.8% in 1976, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
That reduction didn’t happen overnight. It started with a 1970s-era ban on cigarette advertising on TV and continued amid legislation barring tobacco companies from marketing their deadly products to teenagers by offering candy and fruit flavors, and using cartoon characters as mascots. Notably, the sweet flavors are back with a vengeance with e-cigarettes.
But the results speak for themselves. No doubt, lives were saved as smoking fell out of favor with young people and fewer got hooked on tobacco. Hundreds of millions of dollars in health care costs were almost certainly saved too.
But then came the e-cigarette industry, which employed many of the same advertising tactics as the tobacco companies. In many cases, it was the tobacco companies themselves simply dusting off their old strategies after jumping into the e-cigarette business.
Just ask Dr. Robert Jackler, a Stanford University professor and physician who assembled a vast collection of vintage cigarette advertising and compared it to modern e-cigarette ads. As reported by Smithsonian Magazine in 2018, Jackler found the e-cigarette industry made false or exaggerated health claims, used celebrity endorsements and tied the products to social status — all tactics from the Big Tobacco playbook. The vaping industry further borrowed those strategies by enticing teens with sweet flavors and back-to-school sales, Jackler said.
You have pictures of doctors saying, ‘Use this e-cigarette,’ ” he told the magazine. “You have all sorts of claims in e-cigarettes that are the kinds of things that would have been forbidden. E-cigarettes show up on television and radio,” he continued.
The e-cigarette industry’s advertising push was no small effort. According to iSpot.tv, which examines television advertising, vaping companies spent $57 million on broadcast commercials since the start of this year.
Driven by the TV ad blitz, vaping spread like wildfire — especially among young people. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that e-cigarette use among high school students hit 20.8% last year, up from 11.7% in 2017. The CDC estimates that more than 3.6 million American youths are vaping.
This is deeply concerning, especially when combined with the recent rash of deaths and health episodes related to e-cigarettes.
Amid the growing crisis, it’s reassuring that the leading broadcast companies recognize the dangers of advertising on their platforms and are doing something about it. For those companies, protecting the health and well-being of their viewers and listeners was more important than beefing up their bottom line.
That’s a good standard to set. Other companies should follow their lead.
