The most heavily advertized brands of cigarettes, Marlboro, Newport and Camel also seem to be on top of teenagers’ preferences when it comes to smoking, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention revealed.

 

Marlboro is marketed by Philip Morris, Camel is made by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and Newport is from Lorillard Inc.

 

The findings come from a survey of 54,301 regular smokers, part of the 2004 and 2006 National Youth Tobacco Survey of nearly 5 million 12- to 17-year-olds.

 

The analysis showed that 81 percent of established teen smokers had the same preferences as adults did. More exactly, Marlboro was the choice for 52 percent of high school students; Newport by 21 percent and Camel by 13 percent.

 

For middle school students, things looked a little different; the percentages were 43 percent, 26 percent and 9 percent respectively.

 

These percentages are the same as in adults’ case, which means that although the advertising campaigns are designed to target only adults, they do a better job in turning more kids to become addicted to nicotine. Danny McGoldrick, research director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said: “For companies that claim not to market to kids anymore, they sure do a better job of getting then to use their product.”

 

Terry F. Pechacek, associate director for science in the Office on Smoking and Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes that “the National Cancer Institute and the Institute of Medicine have recommended that stronger and more comprehensive regulations are needed to protect youth from exposure to all forms of advertising and promotional activities by tobacco companies.”

 

The study was published in the Feb. 13 issue of CDC’s journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.