ly age. The tobacco companies argue that prohibition of advertising on these grounds are unnecessary, because they already follow an industry code against directing advertising toward a youth market. This code states that the companies agree to not place "cigarette advertisements in publications directed primarily to people under 21 years of age" ("Ban Cigarette Advertising," p. 565).
However, there have been numerous instances in which this code has been violated. For instance, cigarette advertisements are often placed in newspapers and magazines directed to the college-age market. In addition, it has been found that T.V. Guide magazine, which boasts a readership of over 6 million children between the ages of 12 and 17, "receives more cigarette-advertising revenue than any other magazine" ("Ban Cigarette Advertising," p. 566).
Young people have also been targeted by cigarette manufacturers through subliminal messages in popular movies, such as "Superman II" in which images related to Marlboro cigarettes frequently appeared ("Ban Cigarette Advertising," P. 566). It has also been noted that promotional give-aways of cigarettes are not particularly discriminating about age. Although there are requirements for the companies to request identification for anybody receiving a free sample that appears to be under the age of 21, nevertheless, there have been numerous cited examples in which this policy was obviously not practiced ("Ban Cigarette Advertising," pp. 566-567).
Another part of the cigarette companies' advertising code states that they will avoid presenting the habit of smoking in a glamorous way, or in ways that make the viewer believe that smoking leads to "success, sexual attractiveness or prominence" ("Ban Cigarette Advertising," p. 567). However, one need only glance at the many cigarette advertisements in today's popular periodicals to realize that this aspect of the code is commonly violated.
The views of Michae...