Promoting healthier options? Inside the branding of light cigarettes and targeting youth in Brazil

Abstract

This study aimed to understand how the internal strategies of British American Tobacco (BAT) selling 'light' cigarettes to young people in Brazil may inform current global efforts to promote new tobacco and nicotine products. We reviewed industry documents in the Truth Tobacco Industry Documents (TTID) Library. In 1976, Philip Morris and BAT introduced 'low tar' or 'light' cigarettes in Brazil to maintain and attract new young smokers. At the time it was a novel tobacco product that implied lower health risks. While an initial push for 'light' cigarettes in Brazil did not materialise in the 1970s, BAT launched a new 'light' cigarette, Free, in 1984, with a marketing campaign consisting of symbols of personal freedom and choice to attract young people. In the mid-1990s, BAT used the success in Brazil to expand the lights segment throughout Latin America. BAT drove the lights segment through brand marketing and claims of a healthier alternative. As tobacco companies introduce and market new tobacco and nicotine products, mixing health and imagery messages, governments should recognise aggressive brand marketing messaging to attract new tobacco users and ensure that marketing regulations are enforced.

Keywords: Brazil; Tobacco control; harm reduction; light cigarettes.