Ontario bans in-store cigarette displays

On May 31st (coincidentally World No Tobacco Day) the government of Ontario banned so-called 'power wall' displays of tobacco products in stores selling cigarettes.

With so many restrictions on advertising and promotion of tobacco products, the power wall in the convenience store was one of the last bastions of tobacco promotion. Some critics have labelled this move as petty and vindictive, but they are missing the larger point. The display bans are not to 'remove temptation' among former smokers or to hope that smokers somehow forget they smoke if they don't see the display. The bans are designed with children in mind.

Tobacco companies want children to think that it is normal and natural for people to smoke, that smoking is popular among adults and that it is OK to smoke. The power wall displays are designed to reinforce these beliefs. By covering the displays, the products are de-normalised. Cigarettes are no longer perceived as being equivalent to soap powder or candy - regular products consumed by regular people.

I worked in tobacco marketing for seven years and the idea of covering up of power walls absolutely terrified the tobacco companies, to the degree that they fought its introduction tooth and nail in court. They felt that it would seriously limit their ability to establish brand awareness of their products among young children. And they are right to be frightened. These bans will lead to fewer teens perceiving smoking as normal, which will lead to lower levels of teen smoking. And if they don't get you as a teen, then they probably won't get you at all...

To find out more about how the tobacco inductry manipulates children, visit us at http://www.theeasywaytostopsmoking.com/ and take a look at our links page.