TY - JOUR
T1 - An analysis of messages about tobacco in the Military Times magazines
AU - Haddock, Keith C.
AU - Hoffman, Kevin
AU - Taylor, Jennifer
AU - Schwab, Lisa
AU - Poston, Walker
AU - Lando, Harry
PY - 2008/7
Y1 - 2008/7
N2 - The Military Times magazines are seen as an independent source of news and information on the military and are widely read by military members. Given the influence of Military Times as a powerful media outlet within the military and marketing to military personnel by the tobacco industry, we examined tobacco messages and advertisements in a one-year sample from each service. No advertisements for cigarettes or other forms of smoked tobacco were found in any issue published in 2005. However, smokeless tobacco products were advertised frequently, with 11 distinct ads occurring in 105 ad placements. During the year targeted in the present study, smokeless tobacco advertising generated approximately US$564,249 in revenue for the publishers of Military Times. A content analysis suggested that the advertisements intended to pair smokeless tobacco use with a pleasant mood and enjoyable events not directly associated with the product itself. In addition, magazine articles about anti-tobacco topics received among the lowest amount of coverage among all pro-health articles. These findings may partially explain the recent significant increase in smokeless tobacco use among military personnel.
AB - The Military Times magazines are seen as an independent source of news and information on the military and are widely read by military members. Given the influence of Military Times as a powerful media outlet within the military and marketing to military personnel by the tobacco industry, we examined tobacco messages and advertisements in a one-year sample from each service. No advertisements for cigarettes or other forms of smoked tobacco were found in any issue published in 2005. However, smokeless tobacco products were advertised frequently, with 11 distinct ads occurring in 105 ad placements. During the year targeted in the present study, smokeless tobacco advertising generated approximately US$564,249 in revenue for the publishers of Military Times. A content analysis suggested that the advertisements intended to pair smokeless tobacco use with a pleasant mood and enjoyable events not directly associated with the product itself. In addition, magazine articles about anti-tobacco topics received among the lowest amount of coverage among all pro-health articles. These findings may partially explain the recent significant increase in smokeless tobacco use among military personnel.
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U2 - 10.1080/14622200802163126
DO - 10.1080/14622200802163126
M3 - Article
C2 - 18629729
AN - SCOPUS:47949086811
SN - 1462-2203
VL - 10
SP - 1191
EP - 1197
JO - Nicotine and Tobacco Research
JF - Nicotine and Tobacco Research
IS - 7
ER -