[Aiming for the adolescent market: internet and video games, the new strategies of the tobacco industry]. / Se busca mercado adolescente: internet y videojuegos, las nuevas estrategias de la industria tabacalera.

Exposure to tobacco advertisement is associated with smoking initiation among the youth, its elimination is a key objective to effectively curb the tobacco epidemic. Historically, the tobacco industry has pioneered the use of new communication technologies to keep and expand their market. Nowadays, Internet and video games have transcended the entertainment sphere, becoming significant media for massive communication and providing new opportunities for advertisement. The present essay reviews the existing literature on tobacco presence in the Internet and video games to define research and policy tasks required to develop effective means for tobacco advertisement regulation and control.

Se busca mercado adolescente: internet y videojuegos, las nuevas estrategias de la industria tabacalera / Aiming for the adolescent market: internet and video games, the new strategies of the tobacco industry

La exposición a publicidad sobre tabaco está asociada con el inicio en el consumo, particularmente en población joven, por lo que su control es un objetivo clave para reducir la incidencia de tabaquismo. Históricamente, la industria tabacalera ha sido pionera en la utilización de tecnologías de comunicación para posicionarse ante nuevos mercados y mantener la preferencia de los consumidores. Internet y los videojuegos han trascendido el espacio del entretenimiento, convirtiéndose en medios de comunicación masiva con un alto potencial publicitario. El presente artículo hace una revisión de la literatura existente sobre la presencia de tabaco en internet y videojuegos, con la intención de definir líneas de trabajo para desarrollar mecanismos efectivos de regulación y control de la publicidad en estos medios.

Exposure to tobacco advertisement is associated with smoking initiation among the youth, its elimination is a key objective to effectively curb the tobacco epidemic. Historically, the tobacco industry has pioneered the use of new communication technologies to keep and expand their market. Nowadays, Internet and video games have transcended the entertainment sphere, becoming significant media for massive communication and providing new opportunities for advertisement. The present essay reviews the existing literature on tobacco presence in the Internet and video games to define research and policy tasks required to develop effective means for tobacco advertisement regulation and control.

Local smoke-free policy development in Santa Fe, Argentina.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the process of approval and implementation of a comprehensive smoke-free law in the province of Santa Fe, Argentina, between 2005 and 2009. METHODS: Review of the Santa Fe smoke-free legislation, articles published in local newspapers and documentation on two lawsuits filed against the law, and interviews with key individuals in Santa Fe. RESULTS: Efforts to implement smoke-free policies in Santa Fe began during the 1990s without success, and resumed in 2005 when the provincial Legislature approved the first 100% smoke-free subnational law in Argentina. There was no strong opposition during the discussions within the legislature. As in other parts of the world, pro-tobacco industry interests attempted to block the implementation of the law using well known strategies. These efforts included a controversy media campaign set up, the creation of a hospitality industry association and a virtual smokers' rights group, the introduction of a counterproposal seeking modification of the law, the challenge of the law in the Supreme Court, and the proposal of a weak national bill that would 'conflict' with the subnational law. Tobacco control advocates sought media attention as a strategy to protect the law. CONCLUSIONS: Santa Fe is the first subnational jurisdiction in Latin America to have enacted a comprehensive smoke-free policy following the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. After 3 years of implementation, pro-tobacco industry forces failed to undermine the law. Other subnational jurisdictions in Argentina, as well as in Mexico and Brazil are following the Santa Fe example.

[Social responsibility argument for the tobacco industry in Brazil]. / El argumento de responsabilidad social de la industria tabacalera en Brasil.

The issue of "corporate social responsibility" has been one of great importance and concern in the world and has received different names, such as social responsibility, corporate citizenship, sustainable development and corporate ethics. Today, more than ever, it has been necessary for governments, as well as the diverse representatives of "organized civil society," to act in accordance with the concept of sustainable development. This implies an understanding that preservation of the environment, health and education is related to economic productivity; it means an understanding that healthy populations are essential to the reduction of poverty, as well as economic growth and sustainable development. The various positive experiences in Brazil in confronting the tobacco industry's strategies to undermine national tobacco control efforts are due to the existence of a wide network that has played a fundamental role in social control with respect to both the monitoring of public policies that control tobacco and tobacco industry strategies.

[Expansion of the tobacco industry and smuggling: challenges for public health in developing countries]. / Expansión de la industria tabacalera y contrabando: retos para la salud pública en los países en desarrollo.

The international tobacco industry, in its constant quest for new markets, has expanded aggressively to middle- and low-income nations. At the same time there has been a marked increase in tobacco smuggling, especially of cigarettes. Smuggling produces serious fiscal losses to governments the world over, erodes tobacco control policies and is an incentive to international organized crime. In addition, smuggling results in increased demand for and consumption of tobacco, which in turn benefits the tobacco companies. Moreover, there is evidence indicating that the international tobacco industry has instigated cigarette smuggling and has participated directly in these activities, while at the same time carrying out costly lobbying campaigns to pressure governments against tax increases and to promote their own interests. Academic studies and empirical evidence show that tobacco control can be promoted through high tax rates without causing significant increases in smuggling. To achieve this tobacco smuggling must be attacked through the use of strategies including multilateral controls and actions such as those included in the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which establishes the basis for combating smuggling through an international, global approach. It is also necessary to increase the penalties for smuggling and to make the tobacco industry, including producers and distributors, responsible for the final destination of their exports.

El argumento de responsabilidad social de la industria tabacalera en Brasil / Social responsibility argument for the tobacco industry in Brazil

El tema de la responsabilidad social corporativa ha sido asunto de gran importancia y preocupación en el mundo actual y ha recibido diferentes denominaciones, tales como responsabilidad social, ciudadanía corporativa, desarrollo sustentable o ética corporativa. Hoy más que nunca se hace necesario que órganos gubernamentales, así como las diversas representaciones de la sociedad civil organizada, actúen alineados con el concepto de desarrollo sustentable. Esto implica el entendimiento de que, junto con la preservación del medio ambiente, la salud y la educación representan la base de la productividad económica. Significa entender, asimismo, que una población saludable es esencial para la reducción de la pobreza, el crecimiento económico y el desarrollo sustentable. Las diferentes experiencias positivas de Brasil en el enfrentamiento de las estrategias de la industria tabacalera para minar los esfuerzos nacionales del control del tabaquismo tiene como base una amplia articulación en red. Esta red ha ejercido un papel fundamental de control social en el monitoreo y fiscalización de las políticas públicas para el control del tabaco, así como de las estrategias de la industria tabacalera.

Expansión de la industria tabacalera y contrabando: retos para la salud pública en los países en desarrollo / Expansion of the tobacco industry and smuggling: challenges for public health in developing countries

La industria tabacalera multinacional, siempre en busca de nuevos mercados, ha realizado una agresiva expansión hacia naciones de ingreso medio y bajo. Al mismo tiempo se ha producido un marcado incremento en el contrabando de tabaco, especialmente de cigarrillos. Ese contrabando provoca graves pérdidas fiscales a los gobiernos de todo el mundo, erosiona las políticas de control del tabaco e incentiva a la delincuencia organizada internacional. Por otro lado, el contrabando provoca incrementos en el consumo y la demanda de tabaco, los cuales benefician a las tabacaleras. Más aún, existe evidencia de que la industria tabacalera internacional ha propiciado el contrabando de cigarrillos e incluso ha participado directamente en el mismo. Al mismo tiempo, realiza costosas campañas de cabildeo entre los gobiernos para combatir los impuestos y favorecer sus intereses. Los estudios académicos y la evidencia empírica demuestran que es posible avanzar en el control del tabaquismo mediante el incremento de las tasas fiscales sin provocar incrementos significativos en el contrabando. Para ello es necesario combatir este delito mediante acciones y controles multilaterales como los que fueron establecidos en el Convenio Marco para el Control del Tabaco (CMCT), el cual presenta las bases para enfrentar el contrabando mediante un enfoque internacional y global. También es necesario aumentar radicalmente las penas judiciales al contrabando y hacer responsable a la industria tabacalera, incluyendo fabricantes y distribuidores, por el destino final de sus exportaciones.