Jim Karrh

About the author: Jim Karrh is assistant professor of marketing and advertising in the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's College of Business Administration as well as a marketing consultant.

"De-marketing" programs designed to warn teens off smoking can be beneficial, but some of these programs have failed in the past. One reason for this failure is the fact that the decision to begin smoking is fundamentally a social one. Many teens who begin smoking, for instance, believe that smokers are cool and sociable, and they see themselves in the same light. Even teens who admit that smokers are less physically appealing than nonsmokers still view smokers as more rebellious, more cool, and less old-fashioned than nonsmokers. A successful antismoking campaign must not focus on advertising issues alone...