Anti-smoking advocates in huff over Halifax paper's cigarette ads
Anti-smoking advocates in Halifax are concerned over what they say is the increasing frequency of cigarette advertisements that have appeared in the city's free alternative weekly paper, The Coast.
The Coast ran full-page ads by tobacco company DuMaurier in two consecutive editions this month.
Mike DeRosenroll of the Canadian Cancer Society told CBC News he thinks cigarette advertising has "been getting more and more frequent lately."
"They've been really pushing the envelope in terms of whether the ads that they've been publishing cross the line into lifestyle ads, and if they cross that line, they are illegal," said DeRosenroll, speaking of The Coast.
Under Canada's Tobacco Act, brand advertising by tobacco companies is generally banned, except in places where young people are prohibited from entering, in some adult publications and through direct mail.
So-called lifestyle advertising — in which advertising associates a product with positive or negative feelings or imagery of a way of life — is also illegal for tobacco companies.
The Coast has been running ads by cigarette companies for just under two years. Smoke-Free Nova Scotia filed a complaint with Health Canada about ads in 2007 and 2008, but the complaints were dismissed.
Sharon Macintosh, the organization's president, says she recently called Health Canada to see whether there has been any change to the advertising rules.
DeRosenroll said "the government should pass a law to prohibit tobacco advertising anywhere that it can be seen by children."
The Coast's publisher, Christine Oreskovich, says she can't prevent a teenager from reading the magazine, and says the target demographic is adults who go to bars and concerts.
The DuMaurier ad in question brings The Coast $2,000 in revenue each time it runs
Influence of ailing economy
Dr. Ed McHugh, who teaches marketing at the Sobey school of business at St. Mary's University, says the ailing economy is taking its toll on the advertising industry.
"As the economy is in a bit of downturn right now, a lot of firms have stopped advertising," he told CBC News.
With media outlets running out of options for advertisers, McHugh said, they look to companies they would not ordinarily seek out — such as those in the tobacco industry. But Halifax's daily newspapers haven't gone to those lengths yet.
Metro publisher Greg Lutz said daily newspapers, including his, have a policy not to run cigarette ads.
"It is not a type of advertising we've accepted for many years, nor do I think we'll change our position on that."