Trends in Overall and Menthol Market Shares of Leading Cigarette Brands in the USA: 2014–2019

Abstract

Many factors can shift cigarette brand preference, and surveillance is an important tactic to inform regulatory strategy. The objective of this study was to identify shifts in top brands’ overall and menthol market share from 2014 to 2019. We used data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health public use datasets, which are a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of people aged 12+ in the USA. In our analysis of top brands, we accounted for consumption patterns and computed the percent change in market share for each brand. We observed that overall market share declined for nearly all brands, though top moderately priced brands gained share. Half of the top brands with menthol styles grew in menthol market share. We observed three primary shifts in the cigarette market: brands that gained the most menthol market share were brands with both menthol and non-menthol in their product lineups; menthol contributed substantially to discount brands’ market share increases; the two premium brands that employed “natural” descriptors experienced increased market share. Research should continue to focus on trends that influence cigarette market share, as the cigarette market in the USA is likely to look very different in five years than it does today.

Global market trends of flavor capsule cigarettes and menthol (non-capsule) cigarettes: An ecological analysis using commercial data across 78 countries, 2010–2020

“…Monitoring global tobacco use, including surveillance of market trends, is critical for identifying needs and priority areas for increased tobacco prevention and control strategies, and aligns with the M of the MPOWER measures (Monitor). However, studies examining MNCC market data are largely concentrated in specific countries, such as the United States [13][14][15] , Australia 16 , and Singapore 17 . Global data on MNCC market shares are limited and/or outdated.…”

L&M’s foray into marketing ‘natural’ cigarettes

“…Second, L&M’s move is significant because of the recent commercial success of brands using natural marketing, as well as the success of discount brands. Between 2014 and 2019, market share decreased for most cigarette brands but increased for three discount brands, including L&M, as well as premium brands NAS and Winston,21 both of which have historically used implicit or explicit claims of naturalness (Winston has previously used claims including additive-free and ‘naturally smooth’, and more recently ‘tobacco and water’). By exploring repositioning L&M as an affordable and natural brand, L&M may seek to maximise both types of market growth trends.…”

Emergence and growth of ‘natural’ cigars in the USA

“…Prominent examples include use of descriptors such as ‘natural’, ‘organic,’ and ‘additive-free’ by the brand Natural American Spirit (NAS), which have been found to mislead consumers to believe that NAS cigarettes are less harmful than other cigarette brands 2 5. This strategy has been successful for NAS, which saw a 97% increase in market share in the USA from 2014 to 2019,6 despite overall declines in cigarette smoking over this time period 7…”