Tobacco advertising in South Africa with specific reference to magazines

A ban on tobacco advertising forms an integral component of tobacco control strategies, and needs to be considered in South Africa as a matter of urgency.

To obtain baseline data on tobacco advertising expenditure in the South African media, and to compare brands used to target different groups in magazines.

Advertising expenditure (totals and tobacco-related) for 1991 and 1993 was obtained from Adindex. Ten magazines, each with circulations of over 100,000, directed at four different target groups, were selected. For 3 months in 1993, total and tobacco advertising expenditure, brand placement and magazine demographics were determined.

Tobacco-related expenditure constituted 4.8% of the R3 billion spent on advertising in 1993. Print (including magazines) and radio together accounted for 72% of all tobacco advertising, while cinema and outdoor advertising were most dependent on the tobacco industry for revenue. Annualised advertising spending for the 10 magazines reached an estimated R230 million, of which tobacco 'adspend' accounted for 6.4%. The highest percentage of tobacco adspend (20.3%) was for a men's 'soft-porn' magazine. For 26 of 30 issues studied, tobacco adverts were on the back cover. Brand targeting was evident in black, women's, and family magazines. There was not a single feature article on the adverse effects of smoking on health in any of the magazines during the 3-month period. Only 2 magazines had single sentences in their health columns mentioning that smoking was bad for health. In a third magazine, one opinion piece devoted a full page to criticising the anti-tobacco lobby!

Tobacco advertising, through radio and outdoor advertising, reaches children and illiterate communities in peri-urban and rural areas. Tobacco advertising in magazines targets specific consumers, such as blacks and women. For most magazines, tobacco adspend constitutes less than 10% of the total. A total ban on tobacco advertising in the media in general and certainly in magazines would not have adverse economic effects and would promote health.