Kids should not use any tobacco products including ours. At U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, we market our products to adult tobacco consumers. As a manufacturer of smokeless tobacco products, we take seriously our belief that kids should not use our products.
Youth tobacco use is a complex issue for which there is no one simple solution. There is no single reason why young people engage in risky behaviors, such as experimenting with tobacco products, alcohol or drugs. Experts point to a variety of societal, environmental and personal factors that must be considered to help prevent these behaviors, and recommend a multi-faceted approach.
We monitor three major national studies to help inform our youth tobacco prevention efforts. According to
Monitoring the Future and the
Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance studies, youth smokeless tobacco rates are down from peak levels in the mid-1990's, but have leveled in recent years.
The 2008 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSUDH) study reports that smokeless tobacco use declined directionally from 2.4 percent to 2.2 percent among youth 12 to 17 who used smokeless tobacco products in the past month. Please see accompanying charts.Continued vigilance on trends in underage use of smokeless tobacco rates
is required. We believe that any incidence of underage tobacco use is too great and continue to take steps to help reduce underage tobacco use.
In November 1998, USSTC became the only smokeless tobacco manufacturer to reach an agreement with 45 state attorneys general. The agreement is known as the
Smokeless Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement. Elements of this agreement include the following:
- Providing $107 million to the American Legacy Foundation over a 10-year period, ending in 2008, to conduct public education campaigns and other programs to reduce underage tobacco use and substance abuse;
- Prohibiting taking any action, directly or indirectly, to target youth within any settling state in the advertising, promotion or marketing of tobacco products;
- Barring the use of cartoons in advertising, promotion, packaging or labeling of tobacco products;
- Barring most forms of outdoor advertising, including billboards and stadium signs;
- Barring most forms of transit advertisements, such as those on taxis and at bus stops; and
- Prohibiting the distribution of apparel or other merchandise such as caps, shirts and backpacks bearing tobacco brand names and logos.
