Joe Camel Strikes Again!

I find this odd:

A series of ads for Camel cigarettes launched in 2007 have proven
themselves popular with an underage demographic: teen girls. Girls age 12-16
were twice as likely to list Camel as their favorite brand in 2008 than previous
years.

Although tobacco companies have agreed not to market to children, the ads
have been credited with influencing 174,000 girls to start smoking. The pink-and-girly No.9 ads were pulled in
2008.

Isn't there some kind of paradox here that girls age 12-16 need to be protected from cigarette advertisements when, time and time again, they are credited with being the most savy demographic of shoppers and consumers. (citation needed) I know from my experiences that it's precisely the 12-16 year olds - regardless of gender - who are the most discerning of audiences. If they're still buying into Camel's ads, then maybe there's something there that we're all missing....

I mean, What Would Kant Do? Could it be that, in this area at least, a 16-year old girl has a better sense of judgement than, say, a 35-year old man? (Or, especially, a 65-year old man?)

And then the highest sense of aesthetic achievement in this area would be to please that 16-year old's palatte....