cigarette advertising

The issue of cigarette advertising has been controversial for many years. Recently, opponents of cigarette advertising, believing that the ads encourage young people to take up smoking, have called for stronger governmental controls. Proponents claim that a product that is lawful to produce, sell, and consume has every right to be advertised. This article examines recent research on the effects of cigarette advertising and shows that there is no evidence to support the belief that …

…seek to determine why ads can significantly affect sales in the short term but not over longer periods of time. Future perceptual studies should build on the work of Zinser, et al. and take a wider sample of smokers. Such a study should also include the choice "Other" to prevent bias. The work of Aitken, et al. should be extended by studying the relationship of cigarette ad awareness to smoking intent over a longer term.