Cigarette brand preference as a function of price among smoking youths in Canada: are they smoking premium, discount or native brands?

Leatherdale, Scott T.; Ahmed, Rashid; Barisic, Andriana; Murnaghan, Donna; Manske, Steve

doi:10.1136/tc.2009.029736

Cited by 13 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Other studies have found similar results. For example, a study for Canada showed that discount brands and native brands were more popular among youth smokers with relatively less spending money and higher cigarette consumption 28. Another study found that the use of discount cigarettes among adults from the USA was associated with lower household income and higher daily consumption 6.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tax, price and cigarette brand preferences: a longitudinal study of adult smokers from the ITC Mexico Survey

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background Recent tax increases in Mexico differed in structure and provide an opportunity to better understand tobacco industry pricing strategies, as well as smokers’ responses to any resulting price changes. Objectives To assess if taxes were passed onto consumers of different cigarette brands, the extent of brand switching, and predictors of preference for cheaper national brands. Methods Using data from three waves of the Mexican administration of the ITC Survey, we analyzed self-reported brand and price paid at last cigarette purchase. Generalized estimating equations were used to determine predictors of price and preference for national brands. Results The average price of premium/international brands increased each year from 2008–2011; however, the price for discount/national brands increased only from 2010 to 2011. The percentage of smokers who smoked national brands remained stable between 2008 and 2010 but dropped in 2011. Factors related to smoking national as opposed to international brands included being male and having relatively older age, lower education, lower income, and higher consumption. Conclusions Tobacco industry pricing strategies in the wake of ad valorem taxes implemented in Mexico prior to 2011 had the impact of segmenting the market into discount national brands and premium international brands. The specific tax increase implemented in 2011 reduced the price gap between these two segments, by raising the price of the national brands relative to the international brands. Evidence for trading up was found after the 2011 tax increase. These results provide further evidence for the relevance of tax policy as a tobacco control strategy; in particular, they illustrate the importance of how specific rather than ad valorem taxes can reduce the potential for downward brand switching in the face of decreasing cigarette affordability.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Tax, price and cigarette brand preferences: a longitudinal study of adult smokers from the ITC Mexico Survey

et al. 2013

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…These large discrepancies in Federal and Provincial/Territorial taxes are important as price sensitive youth may compensate for price/taxation increases by shifting from FM cigarettes to cheaper RYO cigarettes instead of quitting or reducing consumption [1]. For instance, recent research has identified that in the FM cigarette market, a substantial proportion of Canadian youth smokers now regularly smoke ‘discount’ cigarettes instead of more expensive premium cigarette brands [12]. As such, it would be informative to build on such evidence by examining the prevalence of RYO tobacco use among Canadian youth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Roll-your-own tobacco use among Canadian youth: is it a bigger problem than we think?

Leatherdale

Burkhalter

2012

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundDespite the apparent decline in the popularity of roll-your-own (RYO) cigarettes over the past few decades, RYO tobacco products are widely available and used by a substantial number of adult smokers. Considering research has yet to examine the prevalence of RYO tobacco use among youth populations, this manuscript examines the prevalence of RYO tobacco use and factors associated with RYO use in a nationally representative sample of youth smokers from Canada.MethodsThis study used data collected from 3,630 current smokers in grades 9 to 12 as part of the 2008-09 Canadian Youth Smoking Survey (YSS). Descriptive analyses of the sample demographic characteristics, smoking status, cigarettes per day, weekly spending money, and frequency of marijuana use were examined by RYO tobacco ever use and RYO tobacco current use. Two logistic regression models were used to examine factors associated with RYO tobacco ever use and RYO tobacco current use.ResultsWe identified that 51.2% of current smokers were RYO ever users and 24.2% were RYO current users. The prevalence of RYO current users was highest in Atlantic Canada (40.1%) and lowest in Quebec (12.3%). RYO current users were more likely to be male (OR 1.27), to be daily smokers (OR 1.75), to use marijuana once a month or more (OR 2.74), and to smoke 11 or more cigarettes per day (OR 6.52). RYO current users were less likely to be in grade 11 (OR 0.65) or grade 12 (OR 0.40) and less likely to have between $20 to $100 (OR 0.44) or more than $100 (OR 0.45) of disposable income.ConclusionsDeveloping a better understanding of RYO tobacco use among youth is important for advancing population-level tobacco control prevention strategies and cessation programs. We identified that RYO tobacco use is not a negligible problem among Canadian youth. Ongoing research is needed to continue monitoring the prevalence of RYO use among youth and the factors associated with its use, but to also monitor if this more affordable tobacco product is being targeted to price sensitive youth smokers.

show abstract

“…Self-report data from Canada’s annual Youth Smoking Survey have shown that 8% of Ontario high school students who currently smoke [31] and 22% of those who smoke daily [10] “usually” smoke “cigarettes from First Nations / Native brand cigarettes” (i.e., cigarettes meeting those studies’ definitions of contraband tobacco). Furthermore, students who usually smoke contraband cigarettes report significantly higher tobacco consumption rates than those smoking premium name brands [12]. Similar relationships have been observed for adult smokers: usual use of inexpensive tobacco (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 68%

“…These studies suggest contraband may be undermining tobacco control strategies aimed at preventing tobacco use among youth [4,8,10,12]. It is less clear, however, what impact contraband tobacco is having on young adults’ tobacco use.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given that smuggled brand-name and counterfeit cigarettes represent a very small proportion of contraband tobacco in Ontario [14], while large proportions of First Nations/Native tobacco are produced or consumed illicitly and are reasonably assumed to represent contraband tobacco [10,12,13,31,37], the current study restricted the definition of contraband tobacco to First Nations/Native tobacco cigarette butts. The goals of the study were to: determine the total proportion of First Nations/Native cigarette butts discarded on the grounds of Ontario colleges and universities; and examine possible differences between college and university campuses and among geographical regions of the province.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Contraband tobacco on post-secondary campuses in Ontario, Canada: analysis of discarded cigarette butts

Barkans

Lawrance

2013

BMC Public Health

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BackgroundNo studies to date have assessed young adults’ use of First Nations/Native tobacco, a common form of contraband tobacco in Canada. This study examined the proportion of First Nations/Native cigarette butts discarded on post-secondary campuses in the province of Ontario, and potential differences between colleges and universities and across geographical regions.MethodsIn 2009, discarded cigarette butts were collected from high-traffic smoking locations at 12 universities and 13 colleges purposively selected to represent a variety of institutions from all 7 health service regions across Ontario. Cigarette butts were identified as First Nations/Native tobacco if they were: known First Nations/Native brands; had names not matching domestic and international legally-manufactured cigarettes; had no visible branding or logos.ResultsOf 36,355 butts collected, 14% (95% CI = 9.75–19.04) were First Nations/Native. Use of this tobacco was apparent on all campuses, accounting for as little as 2% to as much as 39% of cigarette consumption at a particular school. Proportions of First Nations/Native butts were not significantly higher on colleges (M = 17%) than universities (M = 12%), but were significantly higher in the North region.ConclusionsThe presence of cheap First Nations/Native (contraband) tobacco on post-secondary campuses suggests the need for regulation and public education strategies aimed to reduce its use. Strategies should account for regional variations, and convey messages that resonate with young adults. Care must be taken to present fair messages about First Nations/Native tobacco, and avoid positioning regulated tobacco as a healthier option than contraband.

show abstract

Cigarette brand preference as a function of price among smoking youths in Canada: are they smoking premium, discount or native brands?

Cited by 13 publications

References 12 publications

Tax, price and cigarette brand preferences: a longitudinal study of adult smokers from the ITC Mexico Survey

Tax, price and cigarette brand preferences: a longitudinal study of adult smokers from the ITC Mexico Survey

Roll-your-own tobacco use among Canadian youth: is it a bigger problem than we think?

Contraband tobacco on post-secondary campuses in Ontario, Canada: analysis of discarded cigarette butts

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About