Cigar magazines: using tobacco to sell a lifestyle.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the content of two cigar "lifestyle" magazines, Cigar Aficionado and Smoke. DESIGN: Content analysis of cigar focused articles. SUBJECTS: Cigar focused articles (n = 353) from Cigar Aficionado and Smoke magazines. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Primary focus; mention of health effects, environmental tobacco smoke, or scientific research; quotation and description of individuals; characteristics such as sex, age, ethnicity, smoking status, affiliation, and stance towards cigars; and overall image of cigars. RESULTS: Cigar business-focused articles were the largest category (40%, n = 143), followed by articles about cigar events (12%, n = 42). Notable were articles featuring cigar benefits to raise money for health charities. Celebrities were featured in 34% (n = 121) of articles and 96% (n = 271) favoured cigar use. Only four (1%) articles featured health effects of cigars as a primary focus. CONCLUSIONS: Cigar Aficionado and Smoke broke new ground in tobacco marketing by combining promotion of product, lifestyle, and industry in the same vehicle and linking the medium directly to product related events that extended its reach. The creation and marketing of new tobacco use sites challenges the increasing "isolation" of smokers, and positions cigar use as a socially welcome relief from restrictions. Public health advocates should anticipate and challenge other new tobacco marketing vehicles as communications technologies advance and public spaces for smoking shrink.

Drug treatment on demand--not.

Drug treatment on demand, appropriate and affordable drug treatment for injection drug users who are "ready" to enter a program, is a humane approach to drug treatment services and an important mechanism to halt the spread of HIV. However, drug treatment on demand is not a reality in the United States. In fact, due to funding cuts at federal, state, and local levels, entry into drug treatment programs has become increasingly more difficult over the past decade. In a NIDA-funded ethnographic study of methadone maintenance, i.v. drug use and AIDS, 70 heroin addicts who were out of treatment and actively seeking methadone maintenance were interviewed. In life-history interviews, the drug users described barriers to treatment, waiting-list experiences, and the impact of these experiences on their drug use, drug-using behavior, and emotional well-being. Respondents used many mechanisms to cope with the lack of availability of drug treatment slots, some of which have increased their risk of exposure to and spread of HIV. These findings indicate the need for an increase in the availability of subsidized methadone maintenance treatment slots "on demand" if individuals are to decrease their drug use and their high-risk behaviors. Drug treatment on demand is more than politically correct rhetoric. It is a necessary ingredient in reducing the harm caused by the use of illegal drugs.