Prepare for tobacco industry attacks and misdirection
With social media, boundaries mean much less than they ever did before
The German Survey on Smoking Behavior (DEBRA), which has been monitoring tobacco use in the country since 2016, found that the number of smokers between 14 to 17 years of age has almost doubled from 8.7% in 2021 to 15.9% in 2022
Over the years, Saudi Arabia has gradually expanded tobacco control policy measures within broader health system reforms to include other measures like smoke-free areas, advertising bans, taxation increase, and increasing support services for quitting efforts 710 In regions with more stringent advertising bans, cigarette cartons themselves become mobile billboards, which promote brand identity and assist with product differentiation
For example, the popular disposable e-cigarette brand Puff Bar marketed its product during the pandemic as a way to stay sane, advertising it as the perfect escape from back-to-back zoom calls, parental texts, and WFH stress. In addition to supporting research that positions cigarettes as a way to self-medicate and using stress relief themes in marketing, the tobacco industry has even gone so far as to give away cigarettes to psychiatric facilities
.jpg)
