Don’t fall for Camel No. 9

By Cassie Kauffman, MA Weld County Tobacco Program

Playing off the successful and chic brand of perfume, Chanel No. 5, R.J. Reynolds has begun marketing a more feminine version of its Camel brand named Camel No. 9. The nine, they say, refers to the phrase “dressed to the nines” and represents sophistication, style and classiness. The tag-line for the product is “light and luscious”. Unfortunately, it is anything but, and represents serious addiction, disease and early death.

The new marketing campaign includes slick ads with fuchsia pink colors and flowers in women’s magazines like Glamour, Vogue, and Cosmopolitan. They also are holding posh party launches including giving away free massages and cigarettes. Additionally, cooperating convenience, grocery and liquor stores receive monetary compensation for placing the new advertising in and around their shops. Reynolds is betting that this campaign will increase its market share of women buying their product. Because many young women and adolescents read these publications and are the main demographic of modish night clubs, Reynolds is also primed and ready for new youth tobacco initiation.

Both the tobacco industry and health advocates know that about ninety percent of current tobacco users started before the age of 18. The difference is that the tobacco industry needs this to continue for their profits while the health advocates are working for an end. Tobacco is so addictive that something that may start out as curiosity over an appealing brand can turn into substance dependence with as little as four cigarettes.

In the U.S., about 80% of the population does not smoke. That leaves about 20% who do. Around half of the current smokers are women. Women overall are still more likely to die of lung cancer than of breast cancer. Women smokers are also just as likely to have a heart attack or stroke as a male smoker. Added risks for women include reproductive difficulties including infertility, low birth weight or premature babies (which can lead to a series of problems for the new child) and other cancers.

The good news is that in Colorado, recent data suggests that tobacco rates for both men and women are down around 17%. Women in Colorado are trying to quit more often and with more support such as using the Quitline and nicotine replacement therapy than their male counterparts.

Regrettably, the tobacco industry continues to market its deadly products targeting not only women but also the socially disadvantaged. Far more people with mental illness, low socioeconomic status, and substance abuse problems use tobacco than the general population. This is in stark comparison to the “light and luscious” ritzy, glamorous marketing for Camel No. 9, for while the ads may seem rich and advantaged, many consumers are not.

Women need to be aware of this marketing ploy. Cigarettes will never be light and luscious; they are weighty and dreadful. Tobacco causes over 430,000 people to die prematurely every year in the U.S.-that’s about 1200 a day! It has over 4000 chemicals, more than 60 of which cause cancer. They cause poor circulation, high blood pressure, stroke, heart disease, cancer, coughing, bronchitis, delayed healing time, ear infections, asthma and more! Not to mention the aesthetically displeasing effects of yellow-stained teeth and fingers, pungent hair and clothes and bad breath. Now does that sound sophisticated and classy?

Tell the girls and women (and men) you know to look beyond these deceitful tactics and avoid tobacco. There is no such thing as safe tobacco. If you or someone you know is already hooked on this dangerous drug, encourage them to always smoke outside their car, home or other building to avoid causing exposure to secondhand smoke to themselves and others. If you or they are ready to quit, have them call the Colorado Quitline at 1-800-QUIT-NOW to receive free quit support and free nicotine patches.

Let’s show RJ Reynolds they are wasting their time on Camel No. 9.