Smoking on YouTube - a challenge for regulators

Whiff of tobacco firms on net - Technology - smh.com.au.

IS THIS the last frontier in tobacco marketing or simply a global stage for the look-at-me generation?

Thousands of videos of sexy, smoking teens are appearing on the internet phenomenon YouTube, possibly being posted by tobacco manufacturers to recruit the next generation of smokers.

Julian Lee, the journalist who wrote this story, rang me during the week looking for an Australian examples of companies, not necessarily tobacco, using Youtube this way - I don't know of any.

I've got no idea what regulators can do about this stuff - it might require some international agreemetns.

Comments

[John Cass]

Interesting story, we should post that to the wiki.

I recently watched "thank you for smoking," the poster child movie for astrosturfing I think. Very funny movie as well.

Why it it always assumed that this is from the tobbacco companies. Please do a bit of searching and you will find the true source. A group of people including myself who are attracted to women who smoke. Sites for this have been on the net for years. Youtube has just given us a nice way of sharing them.

[Jim Buster]

they should stop growing tobacco.. tht wud help everyone...