By Kathryn Maureen Ryan
Impunity Watch, Managing Editor

WASHINGTON DC, United States of America – In a major PR move Philip Morris International, which sells Marlboro among other leading cigarette brands, announced that it will begin buying US-grown tobacco exclusively through third-party leaf supply companies, rather than directly from tobacco farmers in what the company says is an effort to combat child labor, which has become a major problem on U.S. tobacco farms. Despite its stated commitment to end child labor practices on Tobacco farms, known to cause devastating illnesses linked to nicotine exposure, the company continues to target children in its international advertisements.

Human Rights Watch in a May 2014 report found that, like smokers, children working on tobacco farms in the United States are exposed to toxic, addictive and highly carcinogenic chemicals like nicotine and toxic pesticides as well as extreme heat, and other dangers. Most of the children interviewed for the report stated that they were experiencing troubling symptoms including nausea, vomiting, headaches, or dizziness while working – symptoms that are consistent with acute nicotine poisoning.

“Philip Morris International’s new purchasing model means thousands of US tobacco farms will now need to meet higher child labor standards that should protect children from the most dangerous work in tobacco farming,” said Margaret Wurth, children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch. “Philip Morris International should carefully monitor suppliers to ensure they know the rules and follow them.” Human Rights Watch has urged Tobacco companies to ban children under the age of 18 from working in tobacco supply chains where their risk of exposure is high. “All tobacco companies should do more to protect children from the hazards of tobacco farming,” Wurth said. “Each company should adopt policies to prohibit children under 18 from doing hazardous work, including all work that involves direct contact with tobacco.”

While Philip Morris has been praised for taking the step to limit child labor in the United States the company still targets children in advertisement used in its overseas markets, particularly in the growing Asian markets where legal restrictions on tobacco production, sale and advertiments are few and far between. A report issued March 12, 2014, by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and other international public health organizations including Alliance for the Control of Tobacco Use Brazil, Corporate Accountability International, Framework Convention Alliance, InterAmerican Heart Foundation, and Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance. Stated that how Philip Morris International’s ‘Be Marlboro’ marketing campaign uses themes and images that appeal almost exclusively to youth.  The company has expanded the campaign to more than 50 countries despite being banned by a German court and fined in Brazil for targeting teens and sparking similar concerns in other countries.

Smoking in western countries has been on a steady decline over the past several decades since the 1964 Surgeon Generals Report on Smoking and Health was published in the Untied Sates sparking a steady stream of restrictions on smoking and tobacco advertising in several countries. Companies like Philip morose have begun targeting developing nations for new smokers, once again adopting the practice of targeting youth in the hopes of getting children addicted for life and ensuring the industries survival. Philip Morris claims its ads do not target teens. However the ad campaign clearly targets the millennial generation and its younger counterparts.  Jesse Bragg, Corporate Accountability International’s press secretary, said the “Be Marlboro” campaign, which employs coercive slogans urging consumers to “be” like the young-adult actors depicted in the ads, is the same coercive and subliminal advertisement method used to attract kids to Philip Morris for decades. “This is just an updated 21st-century version of the Marlboro Man in a lot of ways, built for a global market as opposed to a U.S. market,” he said.

For more information please see:

Human Rights Watch – US: Tobacco Giant’s Move Could Reduce Child Labor – 5 November 2014

Philip Morris International – Press Release – 5 November 2014

Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids – Despite Outrage, Philip Morris International Expands Global “Be Marlboro” Campaign – 15 July 2014

International Business Times – Philip Morris International (PM) Wants Millennial Smokers, But Health Advocates Say Marlboro Ads Target Teenagers – 5 March 2014