Tobacco Industry Targeting of Older Persons
Creators: name: University Of California Office Of The President
Publisher: name: University of California Office of the President
publisherIdentifier: https://ror.org/00dmfq477
publisherIdentifierScheme: ROR
Year: 2024

description: This project addresses TRDRP’s interest in research related to a) why some groups suffer unequally from tobacco and b) the role of pro-tobacco forces in shaping tobacco control policies. The project focuses on a group often ignored in discussions of the groups most impacted by tobacco: older individuals (50 + years). Older smokers tend to be male, non-white, and socially disadvantaged. People with low incomes, including many older persons, have higher rates of cigarette smoking; current smoking is higher among poorer adults and, among those over 45, African Americans have higher smoking rates than other groups. Older smokers are more likely to blame themselves for smoking, and less likely to be treated for tobacco use, perhaps due to the common myth that quitting at older ages is useless or even harmful.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Research drawing on internal tobacco industry documents has helped advocates working with other groups to develop public health messages, show why ties with the industry may be harmful, and educate groups regarding the activities of the tobacco industry, all of which can play important roles in making tobacco use socially unacceptable and helping people understand that the tobacco industry is not a reliable source of information. Preliminary work on this project suggests that the tobacco industry has been for many years keenly interested in older populations, exploring ways to attract older smokers and keep them from quitting, studying older smoker market groups, reassuring them regarding disease risks, working with/donating to senior groups in various ways, and funding research related to aging and smoking which appears to have been used to argue that it was useless for older smokers to quit. Yet no previous studies of tobacco industry documents have specifically explored the industry’s activities related to older people. Given the aging of the population and the increasing concentration of smokers within poorer and older populations, this represents an important gap in our knowledge of industry activities.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The specific aims of the study are: 1) Retrieve and analyze internal tobacco industry documents in order to describe tobacco industry marketing strategies targeting older smokers; how the tobacco industry seeks to influence tobacco control policies specific to older adults through outreach directed at nursing home organizations and other senior oriented groups; and the tobacco industry’s evolving strategies to influence science related to seniors; 2) Explore and describe how industry targeting strategies identified in the documents are received by their intended audiences by conducting focus groups (small group discussions) with senior smokers to assess their response to industry practices identified in the documents.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 The tobacco industry documents provide never before available opportunities to offer public health advocates and targeted groups relevant insights into the industry’s practices. This study, by systematically documenting tobacco industry strategies for targeting older smokers, and how the tobacco industry has influenced science related to seniors, will make a major contribution toward improving tobacco control efforts for older populations.