I was speaking with Mr Kevin Barron MP about the matters below and he suggested I forward you the details.

  Recent evidence from documents off the Internet discovered in the Minnesota tobacco trials in the United States suggests that tobacco companies have long targeted children and young people "to replace adult smoker lost through natural attrition".[19]

  The cynical way in which tobacco industry insiders discuss the importance of children is chilling, particularly for Philip Morris the makers of Marlboro cigarettes which are prominently advertised in Formula 1 motor racing.

  The excerpt below comes from the "Summary" beginning on Page 6 of a lengthy document entitled "Young Smokers—Prevalence, Trends, Implications and Related Demographic Trends". I have included the whole document and although it suggests that it runs to 105 pages, from page 55 onwards the pages are blank. I can only suggest that this is as a consequence of the difference between an Internet page and a page of paper. The excerpt reads:

It is important to know as much as possible about teenage smoking patterns and attitudes. Today's teenager is tomorrow's potential regular customer, and the overwhelming majority of smokers first begin to smoke while still in their teens.

In addition, the 10 years following the teenage years is the period during which average daily consumption per smoker increases to the average adult level. The smoking patterns of teenagers are particularly important to Philip Morris: Of the 11 packings of which the median age of smokers is under age 30, seven are Philip Morris packings, and the share index is highest in the youngest age group for all Marlboro and Virginia Slims packings and for B&H Lights and Menthol.

Furthermore, it is during the teenage years that the initial brand choice is made. At least a part of the success of Marlboro Red during its most rapid growth period was because it became the brand of choice among teenagers who then stuck with it as they grew older.

15 November 1999