Nearly 9 in 10 kids in China know cigarette logos: study

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWa8m4KxpU0FZuyIzqyXkBZa0lQLdgSJ7BRHWsctmCiwQPtZAreOMbo3mMxb5GUjTFMf6SiwYnn4ECONeXQyKtmZovwu3ier-uailQ24CyqPTu6qyxKw6yPBXw7CMazAmVFUgEu3oAhb2p/s1600/Nearly+9+in+10+kids+in+China+know+cigarette+logos.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWa8m4KxpU0FZuyIzqyXkBZa0lQLdgSJ7BRHWsctmCiwQPtZAreOMbo3mMxb5GUjTFMf6SiwYnn4ECONeXQyKtmZovwu3ier-uailQ24CyqPTu6qyxKw6yPBXw7CMazAmVFUgEu3oAhb2p/s400/Nearly+9+in+10+kids+in+China+know+cigarette+logos.PNG" width="400" /></a></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>WASHINGTON: Nearly nine in 10 children in China can identify a cigarette logo, according to a US study out Monday that measured tobacco recognition among five- and six-year-olds in various countries.</b></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The study in the journal Pediatrics covered six nations -- Brazil, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, Russia, as well as China -- where adult smoking rates are the highest, according to the World Health Organization.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> More than two thirds of the children studied (68 percent of the 2,423 participants) could identify at least one cigarette brand logo.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The findings raise concerns about whether low and middle income countries are complying with international bans on tobacco advertising to young children, the study authors said.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "What was amazing to me was how we saw kids who don't live with smokers but were very aware of cigarette brands," lead author Dina Borzekowski of the University of Maryland told AFP.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "What that says to me is they are getting their messages through the community, in their environments. They are seeing it at retail establishments, they are seeing posters. When they go off to buy a piece of candy at a local store, they are seeing these logos."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> For the study, researchers sat down with children and played a matching game, in which the youths were asked to pair a logo with a picture of a product, such as a car, beverage, food item or pack of cigarettes.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> All the children -- about 400 in each country -- were shown Marlboro and Camel logos, along with local brands that were distinct to their country.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "We would show them a logo and they would have to pick up a card with the product," said Borzekowski. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The highest recognition rates were in China, where 86 percent of children could identify at least one cigarette brand logo. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "In China, on average, kids knew almost four out of eight of the brands," Borzekowski said.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "These are little kids. The idea that they can recognize logos at this young an age is amazing."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> At the opposite end of the spectrum was Russia, where 50 percent of children studied knew at least one cigarette logo.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> More than a quarter of all children studied could identify two to three cigarette brands, and 18 percent knew four or more.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> Children were also asked if they intended to smoke when they grew up. The highest yes rate was in India, where 30 percent -- both boys and girls -- said they planned to be smokers as adults. </div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> In China, Nigeria, Pakistan and Russia, boys were more likely than girls to say they would smoke as adults.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> In Brazil, 59 percent of kids could identify a cigarette brand, and 16 percent of them could identify Marlboro specifically.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The study was done in selected urban and rural areas in the host countries, and researchers said they endeavored to make sure the children were "typical" and not from wealthier communities where awareness of tobacco marketing might be higher.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> However, they noted that because the studies were not nationwide, they "may not reflect the national populations in each country."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> The World Health Organization has a Framework Convention on Tobacco Control that is signed by 168 countries and calls for limits on advertising and marketing to children.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "The problem is in low and middle income countries, I don't think there is good regulation," said Borzekowski.</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> "So even though the laws are on the books, they may not be adhered to."</div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <br /></div> <div style="text-align: justify;"> <b>AFP</b></div> </div>

AFP cigrattee HEALTH Nearly 9 in 10 kids in China know cigarette logos study Nearly 9 in 10 kids in China know cigarette logos: study

WASHINGTON: Nearly nine in 10 children in China can identify a cigarette logo, according to a US study out Monday that measured tobacco ...

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