Final answer:
It is true that cigarette advertising has historically and continues to target specific subpopulations. This strategy has evolved alongside industry efforts to shape and reinforce the cultural appeal of smoking while resisting admittance to its health dangers. Anti-smoking campaigns and taxation have shown efficacy, particularly among more price-sensitive youth.
Step-by-step explanation:
The statement that advertising for cigarettes targets specific subpopulations in society is true. Historical evidence shows that during the transformation of the cigarette image, targeted marketing played a key role. In the past, James Duke, a pioneering tobacco marketer, focused on changing the perception of cigarettes by associating them with 'manly' imagery and even providing free samples to specific groups like soldiers and blue-collar workers to build a strong cultural association and shift consumption patterns. In modern times, despite public programs aimed at reducing cigarette use, the same targeted strategy continues, albeit in more subtle and sometimes controversial ways.
The industry's resistance to acknowledge the health risks associated with smoking -- despite clear evidence of its harmful effects and the addictive nature of nicotine -- serves as a basis to understand the lengths to which the industry has gone to protect its interest. Efforts to deter smoking through taxing and anti-smoking campaigns have had some success, particularly among youth whose smoking habits appear to be more responsive to price increases than adults, suggesting that targeting this subpopulation could be effective for tobacco control policy.