Several studies have shown that women's magazines are highly influenced by cigarette advertising revenues to restrict their coverage of the health hazards of tobacco. Prominent women's magazines such as Cosmopolitan and Redbook that carry a high percentage of cigarette ads rarely, if ever, carry articles that seriously discuss quitting or the dangers of smoking. The issue did, however, include four full-page cigarette ads, including the back cover. Publishers are afraid to offend cigarette advertisers. The influence of tobacco has the potential for reaching even deeper now that the big tobacco companies have diversified and are owners of consumer products entities like Nabisco and General Foods.
Minorities are another tobacco-marketing target.
Advertisements for brands such as Kool, Salem, and Virginia Slims are splashed throughout the pages of magazines like Ebony and Jet . The industry craftily tried to market a new brand of cigarettes, called Uptown, to blacks. Other tricks of the tobacco trade include sponsorship of sporting events, from bowling to boat racing something for everybody. Winston sponsors a special toll-free telephone number to provide the latest game scores. Free samples and discount coupons are readily available through the mail, regardless of the recipient's age.