UNFILTERED: A revealing look at today's tobacco industry.

Items distributed to women at Camel No. 9 promotional parties, including wristbands, berry lip balm and jeweled lighters.

the glamorizing of tobacco

R.J. Reynolds realized that only 30 percent of its customers were women.
Camel No. 9 debuted in 2007. Marketing included sexy packaging, coupons and parties with free massages and gift bags.
Glamorous marketing appeals to girls as well as adult women.

In Yunnan Province, China, students are issued uniforms covered in advertisements, including ones for Marlboro.

a new world of profits for tobacco

As cigarette sales have declined in the United States, developing countries have become a very lucrative market for the tobacco industry. These countries have minimal regulations on tobacco and very little public awareness of health impacts.
China has more than 350 million smokers — 50 million more cigarette buyers than the entire population of the United States.
The World Health Organization predicts that the death toll of tobacco in the 21st Century will exceed 1 billion worldwide, with 80 percent of deaths occurring in poor countries.

Kool sweepstakes advertisement found in Ebony magazine.(Sept-Oct.2003)

There's nothing Kool about targeting African Americans

African American men are an important and lucrative market for tobacco companies.
A 2007 study found 2.6 times more tobacco ads per capita in African American neighborhoods than in other neighborhoods.
Culturally specific images and hip hop music imply Kool cigarettes are part of a successful, affluent African American lifestyle.

The Chronicles of Riddick video game uses cigarettes as a form of strength for the game’s characters.

Playing unfairly with kids

Video games are a $9.4 billion business in the United States, with sales higher than the movie box office.
Teens often choose video games over television, making games a way to reach a significant audience of potential smokers.
In The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay, cigarettes are given as rewards and cigarette warning labels are mocked.

“Cigarette Fairies” are young, attractive women hired by tobacco companies to go to bars and promote tobacco products.

Cigarette Fairies provide the personal touch

Young adults are a key market — they are experiencing transition, they experiment and they are influenced by their peers.
Nearly 20 percent of college students smoke. Smokers often stick with the first brand of cigarettes they used regularly.
Tobacco companies sponsor events and hire “Cigarette Fairies” to distribute free products in bars and socialize with young adults.

Philip Morris is a major donor to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

tobacco takes more than it gives

Through charitable donations, the tobacco industry can claim it’s doing something positive for society – and can protect itself from regulations by arguing charities suffer when tobacco revenues drop.
Tobacco industry support for youth programs suggests the industry is fighting youth smoking — not causing it. Since 1998, Philip Morris has donated $230 million to programs including Big Brothers Big Sisters and Boys & Girls Clubs
One year, Philip Morris spent $100 million on PR to promote its corporate giving – more than the $75 million it spent on the giving itself.

Tobacco companies still send free products to military personnel serving overseas today, continuing an association that goes back nearly 100 years.

the real war stories about tobacco

Historically, free and discounted tobacco has hooked generations of soldiers.
Smoking rates in the military are significantly higher than in the general population.
Tobacco companies still send free cases of products to troops serving in the Middle East.

Flavored cigars.

Flavored tobacco - the taste kids don't need

Regulations preventing direct youth marketing forced a different tactic by tobacco companies.
Sweet-flavored tobacco products are attractive “starter products” for youth because they “taste better.”
The FDA banned flavored cigarettes, but “little cigars” and smokeless tobacco are still available in candy and fruit flavors such as peach, grape and chocolate.

Camel Snus was launched nationally in early 2009.

new products, same old nicotine

Smokeless tobacco is hard to detect, making it easy to use in places people cannot light up a cigarette.
Camel Snus comes in tea-bag-like pouches and requires no spitting.
Other new products resemble candies, mints and breath strips.

Tobacco door-cling advertisement located at eye level of children.

Tobacco advertising surrounds you

To retain and attract customers, tobacco companies place advertisements in locations where they know people will see them — convenience stores.
Tobacco companies pay retailers to place ads inside and outside their stores, manipulating the environment so people can’t miss them, and contracting with the stores so that management can’t move them.
Tobacco is often displayed at the eye level of children, and this point-of-sale marketing increases in stores frequented by teens.

Back cover of a 2009 issue of Playboy, which included a 12-page special section in honor of Skoal's 75th anniversary.

sex sells skoal

According to Playboy, about 600,000 of its readers are smokeless tobacco users and another 3.7 million are smokers.
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, makers of Skoal, sought to embrace Skoal users and lure smokers with sexually provocative images.
Skoal’s “Welcome to the Brotherhood” campaign partnered with Playboy, allowing readers to vote on a model for a pictorial.

Click images above for details on how the tobacco companies market their products.

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No other business in history has better adapted to a changing world than the tobacco industry. Despite regulations and health education, tobacco companies continue to thrive.

The tobacco industry has gone under the radar to hook new smokers and keep existing ones. They still spend billions of dollars to promote their products, while we all pay the price for it — economically, emotionally and with our health.

You may not realize how well the tobacco industry has kept up with the times. This site and the accompanying report will provide you with the truth — unfiltered.

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We all pay the price FOR TOBACCO.