Extent of Tobacco and Alcohol Advertising in a Semple of Spanish Neklies

Abstract

Advertising undoubtdly influences our daily habits. In this sense, the promotion of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages is no exception, being a potential stimulus for their use. For the purpose of studying different aspects of the cigarrette and alcoholic beverage advertising which appeared in a sample os Spanish weeklies was taken, these being six of the weeklies having one of the largest circulations, three of which were aimed mainly at women readers, while the other three were general information magazines. The advertising of these two products represents a significant percentage of the total advertising printed in the magazines studied (11%). The promotion of alcoholic beverages widely surpasses that of cigarettes (by 7 to 1). Whith regard to the groups of alcoholic beverages, whisky in the leading beverage advertised. The topics to wich referente is made in the advertiging slogans are widely varied, are lacking in informative elements and are hmited to means of persuading one to identify with said product. Marked differences are observed between the magazines of providing general information magazines and those preferably aimed at women with regard to the amount and content of the advertising of cigarettes and alcoholic beverages. The methodological differences arising on studying the advertising-use relationship are discussed. Lastly, a number of activities for contradicting the effect of the massive advertising of cigarettes ald alcoholic beverages appearing in our weeklies are proposed.