A MARKETING company hired by one of Australia's tobacco giants has been reprimanded by the Federal Health Department for recruiting non-smokers to take up the habit.

The tactic has been described as underhanded and exploitative by doctors and the anti-smoking lobby, who want tobacco advertising laws to ban the tobacco industry from using market research and other types of viral marketing techniques. They say the research firm Feedback Plus, based in Northmead, has targeted students who are strapped for cash and people who are already hooked, including one 40-year-old man with a heavy alcohol and cigarette dependence, who was paid by market researchers to smoke up to 200 cigarettes a week.

In an email distributed in November, Feedback Plus said it was about to embark on a large cigarette "taste-testing" survey where recruits would be given cigarettes to test at home and be paid for their opinions. "Taste testing is not limited to smokers. New registrations via the webpage for the testing panel … have a chance at winning an instant $200 cash," the email said.