Module 2:

Today’s Modified Marketing

Even though many of the tobacco industry’s old marketing tactics were banned in the 1990s, companies still find ways to promote their products to people. Today’s strategies include customizing advertisements, promotions, and products to attract new customers and build brand loyalty.

In Module 2, you’ll explore how the tobacco industry continues to target people by using modern strategies.

One of the biggest targets for the tobacco industry is you. As cigarettes have become less popular, companies have shifted their focus to products like vapes and nicotine pouches, making them look trendy, modern, and harmless. The goal is simple, convince people who don’t use tobacco, especially teens, to give them a try.

To Big Tobacco, young people aren’t just customers, they’re what the industry calls “replacement smokers.” As older users quit or face serious health problems, the industry counts on a new generation to take their place and keep profits flowing.

Click through each box below to see how the tobacco industry doesn’t reinvent the wheel when it comes to marketing. Instead, they cleverly updated old tactics to make them feel fresh, relatable, and appealing.

In the past, tobacco ads used athletes, doctors, and actors to make their products look safe and popular. Today, things have not changed. They still pay celebrities to promote their products, but instead of seeing advertisements in magazines, on billboards, and in Television commercials, the tobacco industry pays influencers to promote their products online. Using online platforms, influencers can make these products seem cool and normal just by showing them on their pages.

Products are marketed in these different ways:

A long time ago, Big Tobacco advertised products like cigarettes and cigars in newspapers, movies, and magazines. But today, they’ve found new ways to reach people, especially kids and teens. Instead of just using ads, they now connect their products to things that seem fun and exciting. This includes music festivals, sports, online gaming, and even streaming shows.

When tobacco companies sponsor events, they attach their brand to activities young people already enjoy. For example, they might pay to have their logos shown at concerts, set up booths at festivals, or hand out free merchandise. This is called experiential marketing. It’s more than just an ad, it’s meant to make you feel something, like belonging, excitement, or being part of a cool group. The goal is to make tobacco products seem like a fun lifestyle, not a serious health risk.

Sponsorship isn’t just about music or gaming. Big Tobacco also uses sports to advertise. A good example is Formula 1 racing. Even though there are rules against tobacco ads, companies still find ways to put their branding on race cars, uniforms, and even in Netflix shows about the sport. This way, they can reach people at live events, on streaming platforms, and on social media all at the same time. That’s what makes these sponsorships so powerful and dangerous for young people.

Big Tobacco uses platforms that are popular with teens to reach their “next generation” of buyers, even though marketing to youth is against the law. Social media influencers, often play a role in promoting or even selling tobacco products through platforms like TikTok and Instagram. Some of these posts may not look like advertisements but they still promote the use of vaping or using another tobacco product.

Another problem is how phone algorithms work. Algorithms are computer programs that decide what will show up in your feed. If someone likes or follows content that features vaping or other tobacco products, social media platforms may start automatically showing more of it, just because they liked a post, making it hard to avoid. This means just one click or follow can flood your feed with promotions.

How Big Tobacco Uses Social Media

Historically, Big Tobacco has used low prices, bargains, and deals to sell their products. Today, the industry uses more modern marketing strategies to sell their products, such as rewards programs. These programs give both stores and customers special benefits for selling or buying tobacco and nicotine products.

Big Tobacco knows that flavors are one of the easiest ways to hook young people. Sweet candy flavors make nicotine seem less harsh and more appealing. Especially, to teens who might be curious to start. In fact, most teens experiment with these products through flavored vapes, making flavors a kind of “starter pack” designed to get them coming back for more.

On top of that, the packaging is often bright, colorful, and eye-catching, sometimes even placed right next to candy in stores. Some flavored products are even designed to look and feel like familiar snacks, candies, or toys, making them seem fun and harmless when in reality, they’re anything but.

The dangerous part is these flavors are masking high levels of nicotine, and the higher the amount, the more likely teens are to become addicted. But that is the point! Big Tobacco hides nicotine addiction behind flavors.

Flavors aren’t a new trick. Years ago, tobacco companies added menthol and other flavors to cigarettes to make smoking feel smoother and seem cooler. Today, they use the same strategy in nicotine pouches, vapes, and e-cigarettes, but now there are hundreds of flavors to choose from. The goal hasn’t changed, to make a dangerous product look safe, fun, and tasty.

But here’s the truth, flavors aren’t harmless. They’re a marketing tool designed to pull in young people and keep them hooked. Behind every candy, fruit, or dessert flavor is a product designed to keep people hooked for life.

Take a look at how marketing has stayed the same: