Research articleCigarette Promotional Offers: Who Takes Advantage?
Introduction
In contrast to traditional advertising, tobacco industry promotional marketing expenditures for cigarettes has increased substantially since the mid-1980s.1, 2, 3, 4 In 2002, promotional offers on cigarettes (e.g., dollar-off, multipack discounts) composed the largest share of total ($12.5 billion) marketing expenditures at 72% or $8.9 billion.4 These practices may be a strategy by the tobacco industry to subsidize the price of cigarettes for various price-sensitive market segments4, 5 who otherwise might cut their consumption or even quit. The industry’s interest in discouraging quitting and recapturing quitters is well documented in its internal records. In fact, Ling and Glantz6 found that Phillip Morris, Brown & Williamson, and RJ Reynolds all conducted studies that focused on tracking and characterizing quitters and on identifying strategies that might allay concerns about price, nicotine addiction, and the social acceptability of smoking. Previous research indicates that the more price-sensitive groups include heavier smokers, low-income smokers, women, and young adults,7, 8, 9, 10 but there are no data on the price sensitivity of smokers who are planning to quit soon.
Tobacco companies had to develop new marketing approaches to maintain their competitive edge and to counter the decline in sales because of increasing cigarette prices.1 Although various state and federal tax increases continued through the early 1990s, it was not until the late 1990s that a succession of larger tax increases occurred.9 Following the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) between 46 state attorneys general and five major tobacco companies to resolve state lawsuits against the industry,11 cigarette prices increased nationwide by approximately $0.70 per pack. California implemented an additional $0.50 per pack excise tax in January 1999, and small price increases since then have driven up the average price of a pack of cigarettes in that state by 75%, from $2.33 in 1997 to $4.08 in 2002 (inflation adjusted).12
Much of what is known about cigarette promotional marketing strategies has been based on internal tobacco industry documents. However, these data may not reflect actual smoking-related behaviors in the general population. Besides examining groups previously identified as price sensitive, and thus, perhaps more likely to take advantage of promotional offers, this study also investigated whether those contemplating quitting may report using these offers more often. Such smokers may find it difficult to pass up what they perceive as a bargain, and as a result, procrastinate about quitting. It is also possible that smokers of particular brands might report using such offers more often, because these brands are more likely to feature the offers. In this analysis, data from the large, population-based 2002 California Tobacco Survey was used to identify which smokers appear most likely to take advantage of promotional offers on cigarettes.
Section snippets
Data Source
This study employed data from the 2002 California Tobacco Survey (CTS), a large population-based random-digit-dialed telephone survey designed to monitor changes in tobacco use and attitudes in California.13 The methods for the 2002 CTS, conducted between September 2002 and January 2003, are described in detail elsewhere.14 In brief, samples of telephone exchanges are drawn within each of 18 regions in California. In each survey, an adult (aged ≥18 years) in each responding household (46% of
Frequency of Seeing and Taking Advantage of Promotional Offers
Over one third (35.0%±1.6% [±95% confidence interval]) of smokers said they used promotional offers every time they saw one, but a majority (54.9%±1.8%) reported rarely seeing them (Table 1). Taking advantage of promotional offers was related to how frequently they were seen (Table 2). Around one half of smokers who saw such offers at least one quarter of the time that they bought cigarettes said that they used them every time they saw them compared to only about one quarter of those who rarely
Discussion
Our results provide strong evidence that tobacco industry promotional offers are particularly appealing to certain market segments, including young adults, women, African Americans, those with higher daily consumption levels, and those worried about cigarette cost. Menthol (Newport/Kool) and Camel smokers, in particular, were highly likely to say they took advantage of promotional offers every time they saw one. Although tobacco industry documents have long suggested that promotional offers
Conclusions
With the exception of smokers intending to quit soon, our results strongly suggest that the tobacco industry is successfully reaching the intended price-sensitive groups with its promotional offers. Such a strategy may be particularly effective with young adults and African Americans who tend to smoke the brands associated with increased promotional-offer use. To cigarette manufacturers, promoting brand loyalty in younger casual smokers and encouraging them to become fully addicted so they will
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2023, Addictive BehaviorsCitation Excerpt :While our study did not find consistent associations between demographic variables and increased odds of all TEMS use, several findings on the determinants of TEMS use presented in this study are noteworthy. Consistent with previous research, we found that younger adult smokers are more likely than older smokers to use some TEMS (Choi et al., 2012; White, White, Freeman, Gilpin, & Pierce, 2006), e.g., using another form of CT, roll-your-own cigarettes, and borrowing from friends and family. This demographic has traditionally been price sensitive and potentially more likely to find opportunities to save money on cigarettes and other tobacco products (Levy, Chaloupka, & Gitchell, 2004).
Use of Price Promotions Among U.S. Adults Who Use Electronic Vapor Products
2018, American Journal of Preventive MedicineCitation Excerpt :Use of price-related promotions was also higher among EVP users who obtained the products from a gas station, convenience store, grocery store, drug store, or the Internet. This is consistent with patterns of cigarette sales10–13 and with retail scanner data documenting prominent increases in e-cigarette sales in recent years in convenience stores.16 By contrast, no variation in price-related promotion use was observed across other assessed groups, including cigarette smoking status.
Exposure to tobacco coupons among U.S. middle and high school students
2014, American Journal of Preventive MedicineCitation Excerpt :Coupons can be distributed through multiple channels, including point-of-sale promotions (POS), mail, Internet, magazines and newspapers, and tobacco product packaging,14 and adult consumers can sign up to receive coupons and other information through industry-sponsored events by completing redemption information on coupons or through online registration.13,15 Therefore, a large portion of U.S. adult smokers (18%–55%) have used coupons or other price-related discounts during cigarette purchases.16–21 Studies22,23 have shown that smokers who used coupons were less likely to make quit attempts or successfully quit.