Peru: Thousands of children exposed to tobacco advertising in the capital

According to a joint investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and Peruvian media outlet OjoPúblico, nearly 250,000 children are potentially exposed to cigarette advertising in stores near their schools in Lima, Peru.[1].

Data collected in the Lima metropolitan area show an abundance of cigarette advertising and displays in stores. Brands include Lucky Strike and Pall Mall, made by British American Tobacco, and Marlboro, made by Philip Morris International.

Packets of cigarettes placed among the sweets

The Bureau's data shows the presence of tobacco advertising near 600 primary and secondary schools in the city, within a radius of less than 500 meters. This means that approximately 250,000 children in the city of Lima alone could be exposed to tobacco advertising around their school.

The Bureau collected numerous photographs of these advertisements, as well as photos of cigarette packs next to candy or snacks, or in view of children. These often include photos of brightly colored posters with catchy slogans promoting Lucky Strike energy drink-flavored cigarettes, and elegant displays of Pall Mall (BAT) cigarette boxes right next to the cash register.

In other stores, there are cigarette packets surrounded by packets of sweets, chocolates and crisps; or open cigarette packets - most likely for people who want to buy single cigarettes - nestled within reach of children among chewing gum, cakes and sodas.

Advertisements placed by tobacco manufacturers

In the study, one store owner said that sales representatives from large tobacco companies come into the store to tell them where to display cigarettes, including placing them among sweets and snacks. Tobacco products are particularly popular in bodegas (neighborhood grocery stores). These small, independent convenience stores are part of the fabric of daily life in Peru. There are more than 500,000 of them nationwide.

The most frequently advertised brands were BAT, with almost two-thirds of the advertising cases recorded within a 500-metre radius of schools. More than a quarter of the ads were for Lucky Strike cigarettes, while a fifth were for Pall Mall cigarettes. PMI brands were also very prominent, with dozens of cases of Marlboro and L&M being seen near schools.

Branches of Tambo, a chain of about 400 stores in Peru, also actively promote flavored cigarettes, which have been shown to particularly appeal to young people and are completely banned in many countries.

A very strong tobacco industry lobby in Peru

Many countries around the world have imposed a complete ban on cigarette advertising, as mandated by the World Health Organization's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. This includes banning the display of tobacco products at the point of sale. There is strong evidence that these bans reduce the risk of young people starting to smoke.

Although Peru is a party to the FCTC treaty and has sought to introduce a total ban on advertising since 2010, the country has yet to ban the display of cigarettes at points of sale or advertising inside a store. It is illegal to advertise tobacco products within 500 meters of a school, but the ban only covers advertising visible from the outside. For anti-smoking experts, this type of promotion highlights the inadequacies of current legislation, which is easily circumvented by tobacco companies.

A bill proposing a total ban on tobacco advertising is currently making its way through Peru’s Congress. But over the past decade, several attempts to enact a complete ban have failed. According to the anti-tobacco organization COLAT, which has been campaigning for a decade to ban tobacco advertising in bodegas and supermarkets, the tobacco industry has been very active in opposing or lobbying to prevent these bills from passing. Every time a bill is introduced, members of Congress with ties to the manufacturers vote against it.

While tobacco companies advertise a "smoke-free future" in Western countries, they continue to aggressively advertise traditional cigarettes near schools in low- and middle-income countries, where smoke-free legislation is weaker or non-existent. In all countries, tobacco industry interference was the main obstacle to the adoption or implementation of proposed measures, whether advertising, health warnings, plain packaging or taxation.

AE