How effective are tobacco industry bar and club marketing efforts in reaching young adults?

Abstract

Objective: Recently, the tobacco industry has focused marketing efforts on young adults through bar and club promotions, such as advertising and distribution of free cigarettes in these settings. This study estimates the fraction of the California young adult population that might be exposed and potentially influenced by these efforts. Design and participants: Data were from 9364 young adult (18-29 years) respondents to the cross sectional population based 2002 California Tobacco Survey. As background, we analysed social smoking (only smoke with other smokers), and enjoyment of smoking while drinking. Our main focus was on bar and club attendance, what was observed in bars and clubs, and how this might differ according to respondents' risk for future smoking. Results: Social smokers comprised 30.0 (2.2)% of all current smokers, including experimenters. Nearly three quarters (74.5 (2.3)%) of current smokers/experimenters said they enjoyed smoking while drinking. About one third (33.8 (1.2)%) of all young adults said they attended bars and clubs at least sometimes; attendance was significantly higher among smokers and those at risk for future smoking. Close to 60% (57.9 (2.2)%) of bar and club attenders reported seeing cigarette advertising and promotions in these settings. Again, smokers and those at risk were more likely to report seeing such advertising and promotions in these settings. Conclusions: About 20% of all young adults and about 30% of those at risk for future smoking (including current smokers) were exposed to tobacco advertising and promotions in bars and clubs. These California results may be conservative, but nonetheless indicate that the group potentially influenced is sizable.

Tobacco Retail Outlet Density and Young Adult Tobacco Initiation

“…2 To reach the young adult population, relatively more resources for noncombustible marketing may be aimed toward sponsorships at bar nights and concerts. [53][54][55][56] In fact, evidence indicates that advertising expenditures for smokeless product event sponsorship have increased in recent years in the United States 2 while noncombustible point-of-sale advertising has declined.…”

Changing age-specific patterns of cigarette consumption in the United States, 1992–2002: Association with smoke-free homes and state-level tobacco control activity

“…This birth cohort of young adults was previously shown to be strongly receptive to tobacco industry marketing infl uences in the early 1990s ( Evans, Farkas, Gilpin, Berry, & Pierce, 1995 ). Further, these young adults were exposed to the increased tobacco industry marketing in bars and clubs that targeted this cohort around the turn of the 21st century ( Gilpin, White, & Pierce, 2005 ). It is possible that receptivity to tobacco marketing as a young teenager may predict increased susceptibility to tobacco marketing later in life, such as the young adult years.…”

How should we define light or intermittent smoking? Does it matter?

“…CDC = Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although most defi nitions of a social smoker base the defi nition solely on the situations in which the person smokes, one study defi ned a social smoker as a nondaily smoker who smokes only when others are smoking ( Gilpin et al, 2005 ).…”

“…Intermittent smoking has been defi ned as not smoking on a daily basis ( DiFranza et al, 2007 ;Lindstrom, Isacsson, & the Malmo Shoulder-Neck Study Group, 2002 ) or as smoking on 1 -15 days in the previous month ( McCarthy, Zhou, & Hser, 2001 ). Nondaily smoker has been defi ned as smoking at least weekly (but not daily) or less often than weekly; smoking at least 100 cigarettes in the lifetime and currently smoking some days; smoking more than 100 cigarettes in the lifetime, currently smoking some days, and smoking on fewer than 30 of the past 30 days; smoking more than 100 cigarettes in the lifetime and smoking some days or 1 -2 days in the previous 30 days; or smoking fewer than 100 cigarettes in the lifetime and smoking in the previous 30 days ( Gilpin, White, & Pierce, 2005 ;Hassmiller et al, 2003 ;Husten, McCarty, Giovino, Chrismon, & Zhu, 1998 ;Leatherdale, Ahmed, Lovato, Manske, & Jolin, 2007 ;McDermott et al, 2007 ;Tong, Ong, Vittinghoff, & Perez-Stable, 2006 ;Wortley, Husten, Trosclair, Chrismon, & Pederson, 2003 ).…”

“…More recently, the term social smoker has been used and defi ned as smoking fewer than 5 CPD in the last 2 years and never exceeding that level of consumption for more than a few months; as a self-reported description of themselves as a social smoker; or as a self-reported description of mainly smoking with others or while partying or socializing (with or without an additional constraint on whether they smoke daily; Biener & Albers, 2004 ;Gilpin et al, 2005 ;Moran, Weschler, & Rigotti, 2004 ;Morley et al, 2006 ;Waters, Harris, Hall, Nazir, & Waigandt, 2006 ;Wellman et al, 2006 ).…”