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. 2010 Jul;100(7):1188-201.
doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2009.169573. Epub 2010 May 13.

The "We Card" program: tobacco industry "youth smoking prevention" as industry self-preservation

Dorie E Apollonio  1 , Ruth E Malone
Affiliations

The "We Card" program: tobacco industry "youth smoking prevention" as industry self-preservation

Dorie E Apollonio et al. Am J Public Health. 2010 Jul.

Abstract

The "We Card" program is the most ubiquitous tobacco industry "youth smoking prevention" program in the United States, and its retailer materials have been copied in other countries. The program's effectiveness has been questioned, but no previous studies have examined its development, goals, and uses from the tobacco industry's perspective. On the basis of our analysis of tobacco industry documents released under the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement, we concluded that the We Card program was undertaken for 2 primary purposes: to improve the tobacco industry's image and to reduce regulation and the enforcement of existing laws. Policymakers should be cautious about accepting industry self-regulation at face value, both because it redounds to the industry's benefit and because it is ineffective.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Age-of-sale warning signs for (a) the We Card program and (b) STAKE. Note. STAKE = Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement. We Card is a “youth smoking prevention” program created by the Tobacco Institute, the US tobacco industry's former lobbying organization. STAKE is a California law that requires retailers to post a notice including a telephone number to report to the state failures to check identification for tobacco purchases.
FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Age-of-sale warning signs for (a) the We Card program and (b) STAKE. Note. STAKE = Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement. We Card is a “youth smoking prevention” program created by the Tobacco Institute, the US tobacco industry's former lobbying organization. STAKE is a California law that requires retailers to post a notice including a telephone number to report to the state failures to check identification for tobacco purchases.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Prevalence of tobacco industry age-of-sale warning signs versus state-required age-of-sale warning signs: California retailers, 1998–2008. Note. STAKE = Stop Tobacco Access to Kids Enforcement. The definition of a STAKE Act sign changed in 2006 to include non–California Department of Public Health signs that still met the legal requirements. Source. From the Youth Tobacco Purchase Survey, 1998–2008, California Department of Public Health, California Tobacco Control Program, July 2008.190
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing. The We Card Web Center. Available at:http://www.wecard.org. Accessed March 1, 2009
    1. Imperial Tobacco Canada. We Expect ID Web site. 2009. Available at: http://www.imperialtobaccocanada.com/groupca/sites/IMP_7VSH6J.nsf/vwPage.... Accessed March 4, 2010.
    1. Canadian Convenience Stores Association. We-Expect-ID Web site. Available at: http://www.we-expect-id.com/index.php. Accessed April 17, 2009.
    1. Operation ID UK. Available at: http://www.operationid.org.uk. Accessed April 17, 2009.
    1. Marketing Innovations Inc Project report. Youth cigarette—new concepts. Brown & Williamson. September 1972. Bates no. 170042014. Available at: http://legacy.library.ucsf.edu/tid/oyq83f00. Accessed March 4, 2010

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