Nearly nine in 10 children in China know cigarette logos
A study published today in the journal of the Academy of American Pediatrics finds that the majority of young children from low and middle-income countries are familiar with cigarette brands, with Chinese children being the most cigarette savvy.
Nearly nine in 10 children in China can identify a cigarette logo, according to a US study out Monday that measured tobacco recognition among five- and six-year-olds in various countries.
More than two thirds of the children studied (68 percent of the 2,423 participants) could identify at least one cigarette brand logo.
The findings raise concerns about whether low and middle income countries are complying with international bans on tobacco advertising to young children, the study authors said. “What was amazing to me was how we saw kids who don’t live with smokers but were very aware of cigarette brands,” lead author Dina Borzekowski of the University of Maryland told AFP.
“What that says to me is they are getting their messages through the community, in their environments. They are seeing it at retail establishments, they are seeing posters. When they go off to buy a piece of candy at a local store, they are seeing these logos.”
For the study, researchers sat down with children and played a matching game, in which the youths were asked to pair a logo with a picture of a product, such as a car, beverage, food item or pack of cigarettes.
All the children were shown Marlboro and Camel logos, along with local brands that were distinct to their country.
“We would show them a logo and they would have to pick up a card with the product,” said Borzekowski.