Assessing tobacco marketing receptivity among youth: integrating point of sale marketing, cigarette package branding and branded merchandise

Abstract

Background As countries prohibit tobacco marketing through traditional channels, marketing at point of sale (PoS) and through tobacco packaging is increasingly important for promoting tobacco consumption. Objectives Assess the validity of a novel marketing receptivity index that considers frequency of PoS exposures, tobacco brand recall and ownership of branded merchandise. Methods Data come from a cross-sectional survey of 3172 secondary school students in Argentina. Questions assessed frequency of going to stores where tobacco is often sold; cued recall of brand names for 3 cigarette packages with brand name removed and ownership of branded merchandise. A four-level marketing receptivity index was derived: low PoS exposure only; high PoS exposure or recall of 1 brand; recall of 2 or more brands; and ownership of branded merchandise. Indicators of marketing receptivity and smoking involvement were regressed on the index, including in adjusted models that controlled for sociodemographics, social influences and sensation seeking. Findings Among never-smokers, the index had independent positive associations with smoking susceptibility (ie, adjusted OR (AOR)2v1=1.66; AOR3v1 = 1.64; AOR4v1=2.95), willingness to try a specific brand (ie, AOR2v1=1.45; AOR3v1=2.38; AOR4v1=2.20) and positive smoking expectancies (ie, Badj 2v1 =0.09; Badj 3v1=0.18; Badj 4v1=0.34). A more marked dose–response independent association was found with current smoking behaviour (ie, AOR2gv1=2.47; AOR3v1 =3.16; AOR4v1=3.62). Conclusions The marketing receptivity index was associated with important variation in smoking-related perceptions, intentions and behaviour among Argentine adolescents. Future research should determine the predictive validity and generalisability of this measure to other contexts, including the explanatory power gained by integrating cigarette package brand recognition tasks.

Exposición a la publicidad de tabaco y consumo de tabaco en adolescentes en América del Sur

“…[15][16][17][18] Los datos utilizados en el estudio permiten que el efecto de la exposición a la publicidad en favor del tabaco sea evaluado más que nada a partir de las percepciones reales de los adolescentes y no de la consideración de las prohibiciones formales vigentes. Como es posible que se apliquen algunas prohibiciones sin que sean respetadas, esta metodología permite captar asociaciones que pueden estar presentes incluso en presencia de prohibiciones oficiales.…”

Factores de riesgo asociados al consumo de tabaco, alcohol y otras drogas en adolescentes escolarizados de tres ciudades de Argentina

“…[5][6][7] Entre mayo y junio de 2014, alumnos de 33 escuelas públicas y privadas de Buenos Aires, ciudad de Córdoba y San Miguel de Tucumán respondieron en horario de clase una encuesta anónima autoadministrada.…”

Smoking susceptibility as a predictive measure of cigarette and e-cigarette use among early adolescents

“…6,7,8,9 A 3-item susceptibility measure was developed in the early 1990s based on two key domains: intentions (e.g “Do you think that you will try a cigarette soon? “Do you think you will be smoking cigarettes one year from now?”) and expectations for future smoking behavior (e.g., “If one of your best friends were to offer you a cigarette, would you smoke it?”).…”

“…5,10,11 Some cross-sectional studies have assessed 2 or 3 item measures of susceptibility as an outcome in low- and middle-income countries like Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam, 12 Mexico 13,14 and Argentina. 7,15 These studies assumed that susceptibility predicts future cigarette smoking behavior, however, this has not been evaluated.…”