Self-service displays allow children to easily obtain tobacco products. Free samples are obtained by children, including those in elementary school, despite industry code prohibiting distribution to anyone under 21. Free samples occur on street corners, at shopping malls and sporting events. Appealing to Children Advertising and promotional activities can greatly influence a young person's decision to smoke or use smokeless tobacco products. Awareness of tobacco products and messages is very high among even the youngest children.
Tobacco products are among the most heavily advertised products in the United States.
A 1992 Gallup Survey found that half of adolescent smokers and one quarter of adolescents who do not smoke owned at least one tobacco promotional item such as a tee-shirt, cap, sporting good, or lighter. Sponsorship of events such as tennis tournaments, car races, and rodeos associate tobacco products with excitement and glamour, and provide a way for tobacco brands to be advertised on television despite the broadcast advertising ban. Children are becoming addicted to these products, with more than 80 percent of smokers beginning to smoke by age 18. While the proposed measures will continue to maintain the legal status of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products for adults, they will reduce the easy access and strong appeal for children. Preventing children from smoking is key to reducing the deadly toll of smoking.