Tobacco Research Seminar Series

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Counter-SpinMarketing of Tobacco to Young Adult
Albertans

• Tobacco Research Seminar Series
• Friday, January 9, 2004

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Smoking Rates

• 30 of 20-24 year old Albertans are smokers
  (Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey CTUMS,
  2003)
• 26 of males age 20-24
• 33 of females age 20-24 (only demographic to
  increase over last year)
• 11.7 of Alberta smokers initiated smoking after
  the age of 20. (Canadian Community Health Survey
  CCHS, 2002)

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Smoking Rates Among Post-Secondary Students

• Cairney and Lawrances (2002) data analysis from
  the 1994-95 National Population Health Survey
  resulted in a smoking prevalence of 26.4 among
  post-secondary students across Canada
• The study also concluded that 27 of Canadian
  post-secondary students started smoking age 18
  years and over

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Factors that Impact Higher Smoking Rates Among
Young Adults

• Young adults are often away from their parents
  for the first time and experimentation with a
  variety of substances and behaviours is high
  (Freeman, Hennessy, Marzullo, 2001)
• Smoking restrictions are weak in young adult
  social and work environments (Weschler, Kelley,
  Seiberg, Rigotti, 2001 Naquin Gilbert, 1996)

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Factors that impact higher smoking rates among
young adults

• Students are under a great deal of stress and
  lack the skills to deal with this stress. Smoking
  can be a form of stress relief especially during
  heavy study periods (Everett et al., 1999
  Martinelli,1999)
• Most tobacco prevention programming is aimed at
  youth and most cessation programming is aimed at
  middle-aged adults

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Factors that impact higher smoking rates among
young adults

• The tobacco industry markets heavily to this age
  group

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Why smoking prevention limited to youth fails
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Life Transitions and Smoking

• A young adult is leaving childhood on his way to
  adulthood. He is leaving the security and
  regiment of high school and his home. He is
  taking a new job he is going to college he is
  enlisting in the military. He is out on his own,
  with less support from his friends and family.
  These situations will be true for all generations
  of younger adults as they go from a period of
  transition from one world to another

Harden, RJR Marketing Research Department, 1984,
Bates number 502034940/4943.
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Life transitions, stress, and smoking
Dealing with these changes in his life will
create increased levels of uncertainty, stress
and anxietyduring this stage in life, some
younger adults will choose to smoke and will use
smoking as a means of addressing some of these
areas. RJR document Harden, A Perspective on
Appealing to Younger Adult Smokers Feb 2, 1984,
502034940 -4943.
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How the tobacco industry sells cigarettes to
young adults

• Targeting and Segmentation strategies
• Staying current with core values
• Reaching out through environments and lifestyle
• Instant gratification, price, and free stuff
• Using Peer influence
• Reinforcing the social acceptability of smoking

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Major Players

• The three major tobacco companies operating in
  Alberta, in order of market share are
• Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited
• Rothmans, Benson Hedges Inc.
• JTI-Macdonald Corporation
• Additionally, Skoal Inc., the major spit tobacco
  manufacturer has a strong Alberta presence.

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JTI-Macdonald Corporation

• Alternative Channels
• Promotional campaign that focuses on exclusive
  sales in adult establishments.
• Vending machines display JTI brands near bar, bar
  receives remuneration.
• Cigarette girls approach customers for direct
  sales on promotional evenings.

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Rothmans, Benson Hedges Inc.

• Gold Club Series
• Special event bar promotion campaign.
• This campaign used to include
• a website and club events,
• but is currently limited to
• exclusive sales contracts with
• adult venues.

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Rothmans, Benson Hedges Inc.

• University Partnerships
• Entered into exclusivity deals with University of
  Calgary and University of Lethbridge students
  unions.
• In addition to vending machines in campus bars,
  will also sponsor concerts and other student
  events at the university.

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Skoal Inc.

• Go Smokeless
• Promotional campaign to position spit tobacco as
  an alternative to smoking.
•  
• Ads
• Hospitality industry supply magazine encouraging
  club/bar/restaurant owners to install spit
  tobacco vending machines in order to keep you
  customers inside, buying food/drinks instead of
  outside smoking

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Skoal Inc.

• Point of Sale Promotion
• Vending machines display
• Skoal brands near bar,
• bar receives remuneration.
• Merchandise
• T-shirts, backpacks, etc with the Go Smokeless
  tag line

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Imperial Tobacco

• Rumbling Walls Events and Channel 2
• Subsidiaries of Imperial Tobacco Canada that
  leverages the company's marketing through
  sponsorship activities. In using brand names it
  owns, such as definiti and REV, Rumbling Walls
  Events provides integrated marketing services
  through its magazines, Web sites and through the
  organization of events.

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definiti

• Imperials campaign for its flagship brand, Du
  Maurier.
• Includes
• Website http//www.definiti.ca/
• Contains information on upcoming events,
  downloadable music, and lifestyle articles.

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definiti

• Live Events
• Rum Jungle Grand Re-opening October 26-
  Edmonton
• De La Soul December 11 Edmonton
• Wayne Wonder September 9 Edmonton
• Jimmy Van M October 22 Edmonton
• Tall Paul December 2 Calgary
• Armand Van Helden December 21 Calgary
• Sponsored the premiere of The Company at the
  Toronto International Film Festival Sept 2003

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definiti

• Exclusive Venues
• Coyotes Calgary
• RubySkyeBar Edmonton
• Rum Jungle Edmonton

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definiti

• Magazine
• Direct mail to young adults (18-35 is the target
  population) that contains lifestyle articles,
  celebrity interviews, entertainment reviews, and
  pop culture photography.

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definiti

• Ads
• Radio ads on top 40 stations promoting the live
  events
• Print ads in alternative weeklies, including See,
  Vue, and FFWD, that promote the event, website
  and magazine

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Imperial Tobacco Canada Artistic Development Board

• Forty-four individuals in their final year of
  study at 14 different universities across Canada
  have been donations for the public presentation
  of their finished work in the
• visual arts, cinema, video and animation,
  multimedia and new technologies.
• This year's donations total 450,000 in funding.

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AADAC Consultation with Young Adults

• In the fall of 2003, 10 focus groups with 18 to
  24 year olds (smokers and non-smokers).
• Full report is available on the AADAC website at

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Young Adult Focus Groups

• Focus Groups were comprised of the following
• 82 young adults
• 8 groups of smokers and 2 groups of non-smokers
• Focus groups in Edmonton (2), Calgary (2), Red
  Deer, Medicine Hat, Rocky Mountain House,
  Lethbridge, Fort McMurray and Slave Lake

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Factors Impacting Young Adults Smoking Rates

• Stakeholders consulted found that many factors
  were impacting the smoking rates of this age
  group
• Of legal age to purchase cigarettes for the
  first time
• Many have been smoking for a few years and are
  now addicted
• Less parental supervision and increased degree
  of independence
• May have disposable income
• It is a transition period a lot of
  experimentation
• This group does not factor in the long-term
  health effects of actions. Young adults have
  not felt many of the health effects of smoking
  (see themselves as invincible)

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Factors Impacting Young Adults Smoking Rates
contd

• Very social age, very influenced by group
  behavior. Smoking is seen as a way for group
  bonding
• Spend a lot of time in bars, nightclubs, and are
  often in places supportive of smoking
• Smoking is seen as a break, or a way to ease
  stress
• Often in repetitive and/or laborious job
  situations favorable to smoking
• This age were not as targeted by anti-smoking
  ads when younger
• Tobacco companies have been targeting this group

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Young Adult Focus Groups Positive Aspects of
Smoking

• That it went well with alcohol or coffee
• The buzz or physical sensation
• Relieved stress
• A good way to ease uncomfortable social
  situations
• Acted as a hunger suppressant or kept weight down
• Allowed for a break in the stresses or routine of
  the day (common with young mothers)
• Allowed for a break from work (common with those
  in service and hospitality industries)

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Young Adult Focus Groups Negative Aspects of
Smoking

• Most focus group participants concentrated on
  immediate/short-term effects of smoking smell,
  shortness of breath, coughing
• Next most mentioned were long-term effects like
  possible cancer, emphysema, etc.
• Price
• Lack of control over addiction, behaviours
• Judgments of non-smokers, and disappointing
  family members.

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Young Adult Focus Groups Negative Consequences
of Smoking

• Feeling that they were being negatively judged by
  others (especially those with children)
• Made to feel like outcasts
• Smoking had kept them from achieving sports
  goals, jobs, apartments

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Young Adult Focus Groups Quitting Smoking

• Smokers said that the positive influences to
  quitting would include
• Further increase in the price of cigarettes
• Further ban on smoking in public places such as
  bars
• Pressure from significant others
• Their new role as parents

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Young Adult Focus Groups Barriers to Quitting
Smoking

• Most focus group participants had tried to quit
  in the past.
• They felt unable to quit due to
• Social situations, especially those including
  alcohol
• Being influenced by friends or significant
  others who smoked.

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Young Adult Focus Groups Perception of the
Tobacco Industry- Sponsorship

• Some participants had seen advertising at
  sporting or cultural events, such as car races
  and electronic music events.
• There was ambivalence about sponsorship. Even
  some non-smokers felt that it was positive that
  tobacco companies sponsored events. There was a
  low overall recognition of corporate sponsorship
  as advertising.

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Questions?

• Becky Freeman
• Program Consultant
• AADAC, Tobacco Reduction Unit
• 2nd Floor, 10909 Jasper Avenue
• Edmonton AB
• T5J 3M9
• Phone [phone]
• Fax [phone]
• www.aadac.com/tobacco