Philip Morris targeting Haredi society to grow next generation of smokers – study

Tobacco giant Philip Morris is targeting Israel’s ultra-Orthodox population to drive cigarette addiction and increase profits, according to a Hebrew University study published on Tuesday.

Researchers from the university’s public health wing reported that 87 percent of Philip Morris’s advertising budget over a four-year period was targeted at the Haredi public, despite that population group having the lowest smoking rates in the country.

“We expected that the company would focus on populations with the highest rates of smoking in Israel, men in the Arab sector, and not on the population that has hardly any smokers,” said Dr. Yael Bar-Zeev, one of the report’s researchers.

Marketing expenditure on the Haredi public, which is focused on the printed press, was almost NIS 3 million annually, or $874,000. Philip Morris claims to only target existing smokers with its advertising material, a claim that is challenged by the Hebrew University’s findings.

The report also found that the company developed creative strategies to circumvent tobacco advertising legislation, which limits advertisements to one per newspaper.

Philip Morris employed tactics such as double-page spreads, which technically count as one advertisement, as well as QR codes that take readers to additional promotional material.

In a response published by the Kan public broadcaster, Philip Morris said: “We operate according to the law and in line with the strictest regulation. The company advertises in accordance with Israeli law… and even reports to the Health Ministry as is required by law.”

As part of its “vision” for a “future without cigarettes,” Philip Morris said, it does not seek to recruit new smokers, and that it encourages existing smokers to transition away from the addiction using the company’s e-cigarette range.

“Thanks to the determination and persistence of hundreds of scientists, engineers and technicians, and an investment of more than nine billion dollars in science-based innovation, we are on the right track to realizing this vision.

“Today, close to 19 million adult smokers worldwide use the groundbreaking, smoke-free products we developed. The vast majority of those people (13.5 million) completely stopped smoking cigarettes,” the company said.

The Hebrew University researchers insisted that the only way to stop the tobacco behemoth from continuing to exploit legislative loopholes and grow a new generation of smokers was to institute a blanket ban on all tobacco-related advertisements, “combined with strict enforcement of the law.”

The Haredi population was targeted with 55% of Philip Morris’ total e-cigarette marketing expenditure, lower than that for traditional cigarettes. However, the ultra-Orthodox were still the largest target market for e-cigarette marketing, with 39% aimed at Russian speakers and 6% at the Arab population.