It has been a longtime practice for smokeless tobacco companies
to market their products to college students through familiar
venues, but at UCLA, students aren’t cooperating.
For smokeless tobacco companies, print advertisements and
one-on-one marketing events are the only available forms of
advertising.
To reach out to college students, such companies team up with
campus fraternities and local bars, venues where they can pass out
samples and other advertisements of their products.
But during fall quarter, each of the fraternities hosted
presentations on tobacco awareness education, and as a culmination
to the event, many signed pledges saying they would not allow
tobacco companies to sponsor their parties.
Third-year economics student and current Internal Vice President
of the Interfraternity Council Derrick Klunchoo, who was the
director of risk management at the time, was credited with
organizing educational programs for all of the UCLA
fraternities.
When CSU Long Beach Tobacco Prevention Program organizers
approached him about doing programs on campus, he jumped on the
idea and organized presentations for each of the 18 houses.
The purpose of the programs was to inform students about the
dangers of tobacco, as well as to encourage fraternities to not
host tobacco-sponsored parties.
“I’ve been checking out the parties, and as far as I
can tell, there have been no sponsorships,” Klunchoo said.
“It’s a good step for the program at Long
Beach.”
Not only are the UCLA fraternities not cooperating, but
Maloney’s On Campus and The Westwood Brewing Company, two
frequented bars in Westwood, said they were not aware of such
promotions.
For the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, one-on-one marketing
events are a huge part of their marketing strategy because they are
unable to use billboards.
Jon Schwartz, a spokesman for the company, said that last year,
two marketing events were held at Sigma Nu, though Klunchoo said
the events were well before the educational programs began.
This year, Schwartz said there have not yet been any events
affiliated with UCLA fraternities, and there are none currently in
the company’s plans.
Whenever such events are held, the company takes great pains to
verify that those granted access to their products are legal
adults.
“At fraternity parties, we take a lot of time and effort
and care to ensure that everyone who samples products is an adult
consumer,” Schwartz said.
At these events, Schwartz said marketing includes the passing
out of free samples of their products and the raffling off of
various prizes.
“We have representatives who are there to provide samples
to adult consumers who want them,” Schwartz said.
Whenever U.S. Tobacco Company’s representatives attend an
event, they inform the California Attorney General’s office
beforehand, allowing the office to monitor their activities.
Trevor Gribble, a fourth-year computer science and engineering
student who is currently the president of Beta Theta Pi at UCLA,
said his fraternity has not been approached by such sponsors to his
knowledge.
But he said he had attended a party at another fraternity at the
University of Southern California where various products were being
passed out that had a tobacco company’s logo.
“It was a little giveaway, kind of like what you would get
at a career fair,” Gribble said. “I don’t think
it was effective at all because … most people probably threw them
away.”
Gribble also said he believes many college students have already
made their decision to smoke or not, and that such a decision would
not necessarily change at a fraternity party.
Schwartz said the primary purpose of the advertising is not
necessarily to attract new tobacco users, but to give people who
smoke another alternative.
“We market to adult smokers,” Schwartz said.
“Our goal is to give smokers an alternative … people have
the choice to use it, and it is an adult choice issue.”