Recognition of cigarette brand names and logos by young children in Hong Kong

Objective - To examine the recognition of cigarette brand names and logos by Hong Kong primary school children. Design - Cross-sectional survey with self-completed questionnaires examining smoking behaviour and recognition of 13 food, drink, cigarette, and toothpaste brand names and logos. Subjects - A total of 9591 primary school children (mean age = 10.3; SD = 1.29) living in two districts of Hong Kong included in 1991 as part of a four-year respiratory health, smoking, and air pollution study which started in 1989. Results - Ever-smoking prevalence was 11% (1067); 15% (759) in boys and 7% (308) in girls, and increased with age. Mean age of smoking the first cigarette was 7.8 years. Brand recognition ranged from 53% (Salem name) to 95% (Marlboro name and Salem logo). Significant differences were found by gender and by smoking status for the identification of drink, cigarette, and toothpaste brand groups. After adjustment in a logistic regression model, ever-smokers, who were more likely to be boys (adjusted odds ratio (OR) = 2.22; 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.91 to 2.57), of older age (OR = 1.54; 95% CI = 1.46 to 1.62), living in Kwai Tsing district (OR = 1.31; 95% CI = 1.14 to 1.50), were more successful than never-smokers in identifying cigarette brands (OR = 1.82; 95% CI = 1.57 to 2.12). Conclusion - Smoking is a paediatric health problem in Hong Kong; tobacco advertisements are widely recognised by young children and associated with smoking experience. A total ban on environmental advertising is needed as part of a comprehensive policy for the prevention of smoking-related disease in Hong Kong.