Identifying tobacco brand choices among smokers and other tobacco users is important for the development of prevention and intervention strategies. Information about brand choices among youths is especially important because data on what influences those choices can help suggest ways to discourage young people from initiating tobacco use. The 1999 NHSDA asked all persons reporting current tobacco use which tobacco brands they preferred using in the month prior to 1999 survey. For cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco, it is clear from NHSDA data and data collected from other surveys (e.g., DHHS, 1998a, 1998b) that just a few brands are preferred by a majority of tobacco users. For adolescent and young adult tobacco users (i.e., those aged 12 to 25), tobacco brand preference is even more concentrated than among adults aged 26 or older. Detailed tables on tobacco brand preference for cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco are in Appendix G, and the highlights of those tables are discussed in this chapter.
Overall, 40.7 percent of current cigarette smokers aged 12 or older cited Marlboro as their preferred brand in the month prior to the 1999 survey (see Table 7.1 in Appendix G). This translates to 23.2 million smokers. Newport was preferred by 9.2 percent of cigarette smokers or 5.3 million people. Even the Virginia Slims brand, which was the favorite of just 2.7 percent of current smokers aged 12 or older, was the brand of choice for 1.5 million current cigarette smokers, a sizable number of users.
According to NHSDA data, approximately 3.5 million adolescents in 1999 were current smokers, and they smoked about 1 billion packs of cigarettes per year (Centers for Disease Control [CDC], 1994; DiFranza & Tye, 1990). Three brands accounted for most adolescent smoking. Together, Marlboro, Newport, and Camel cigarettes were preferred by 85.9 percent of adolescent smokers. All other brands each accounted for less than 2 percent of smoking by youths. Marlboro was the preferred cigarette brand for 54.5 percent of 12 to 17 year olds, Newport was chosen by 21.6 percent, and Camel was the brand of choice for 9.8 percent of adolescent smokers. After those three brands, the next most popular was Kool, which was preferred by 1.4 percent of adolescents. These findings agree with cigarette brand information from other surveys. For example, the Teenage Attitudesand Practices Survey (TAPS-II) looked at adolescent cigarette brand preference in 1989 and again in 1993 (CDC, 1994). Findings indicated that Marlboro was the most commonly purchased brand among both white and Hispanic adolescents, and black adolescents most frequently purchased Newport. Starting with the 1998 survey, the annual Monitoring the Future Study (MTF) has included a question about cigarette brand preferences for current smokers (Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Shulenberg, 1999). Corroborating data collected from both TAPS-II and the NHSDA, the MTF revealed that Marlboro was the preferred cigarette brand among most white and Hispanic adolescents and that most black adolescent smokers preferred Newport (Johnston et al., 1999).
Among young adults aged 18 to 25 years old, Marlboro, Newport, and Camel cigarettes were chosen by 83.5 percent of current smokers. Marlboro was the cigarette brand of choice for 56.6 percent of this age group, Newport was the favorite of 15.6 percent, and 11.3 percent of this age group preferred Camel cigarettes.
Smokers aged 26 years or older also ranked Marlboro as their number one choice (35.3 percent), but this age group indicated greater diversity for cigarette brand preference. There were 11 brands that accounted for 80.1 percent of the smokers in this older age group: Marlboro (35.3 percent), Newport (6.5 percent), Basic (6.1 percent), Doral (5.7 percent), Winston (5.0 percent), GPC (4.6 percent), Camel (4.3 percent), Virginia Slims (3.4 percent), Kool (3.3 percent), Salem (3.0 percent), and Benson & Hedges (2.9 percent).
As seen in Table 7.2 in Appendix G, there was little gender difference observed for cigarette brand preference among adolescent smokers and young adults. Marlboro, Newport, and Camel accounted for 85.3 percent of adolescent male smokers and 86.5 percent of their female counterparts. Among 18 to 25 year olds, Marlboro, Newport, and Camel were preferred by 84.6 percent of males and 82.3 percent of female current smokers. Smokers aged 26 or older showed more gender difference for brand preference. The top seven brands for older adult male smokers were Marlboro (41.0 percent), Newport (6.5 percent), Camel (6.1 percent), GPC (5.3 percent), Basic (5.1 percent), Winston (5.0 percent), and Doral (4.9 percent). Among older adult female smokers, the favorite brands were Marlboro (29.1 percent), Basic (7.3 percent), Virginia Slims (6.7 percent), Doral (6.7 percent), Newport (6.6 percent), Winston (4.9 percent), and Camel (2.3 percent). Adult male smokers were significantly more likely than females to prefer Marlboro (41.0 vs. 29.1 percent). Also, only adult male smokers reported GPC as a favorite brand (5.3 percent), and only adult female smokers reported Virginia Slims as a favorite (6.7 percent).
Several racial/ethnic differences were notable with regard to the brand of cigarette smoked most often in the month prior to the 1999 survey. In part, these differences reflect the greater use of mentholated cigarettes by African Americans. Hymowitz, Mouton, and Edkholdt (1995) studied adult menthol cigarette smoking among participants of a stop-smoking study. For African-American menthol cigarette smokers (n = 174), the top reasons given for smoking menthol cigarettes were as follows: 83 percent said menthol cigarettes tasted better than nonmenthol cigarettes, 63 percent said they had always smoked mentholated cigarettes, 52 percent said that menthol cigarettes were less harsh to the throat as compared with nonmenthol cigarettes, 48 percent found inhalation to be easier with menthol cigarettes, and 33 percent said they could inhale menthol cigarettes more deeply than nonmenthols. Among the small sample of menthol cigarette smokers who were white (n = 39), 74 percent said menthol cigarettes tasted better, 51 percent said they were more soothing to the throat, 39 percent said they had always smoked menthol cigarettes, and 21 percent found inhalation easier with menthol cigarettes as compared with nonmenthols.
Table 7.3 in Appendix G lists the top four cigarette brands by racial/ethnic grouping and age. Differences among just 12 to 17 year olds are given in Figure 7.1. Among non-Hispanic whites in both the youngest age group (12 to 17) and the young adult age group (18 to 25), more than half of current smokers preferred Marlboro (58.4 and 61.4 percent, respectively). For white adolescent smokers, Newport ranked second (16.5 percent) and Camel was third (11.2 percent). Camel was the second choice (13.3 percent) among white young adult smokers, and Newport was this group's third choice (8.5 percent). White adult smokers aged 26 or older were most likely to choose Marlboro (35.9 percent), with Basic as their second choice (7.1 percent).
As mentioned previously, African-American brand preferences differed substantially from those of white and Hispanic smokers. African Americans were more likely to select mentholated cigarette brands as their top choices. Newport, a menthol cigarette brand, was preferred by three quarters of African-American smokers aged 12 to 25. Among non-Hispanic blacks in the youngest age group (12 to 17 years), Marlboro ranked second (8.1 percent). Kool, another mentholated cigarette, was chosen by 5.4 percent of current adolescent smokers. Brand preferences among African-American young adults (18 to 25 years) looked very similar to those chosen by adolescent smokers, with Marlboro as their second choice (8.0 percent) and Kool as their third choice (4.7 percent). About a third of non-Hispanic black smokers aged 26 or older preferred Newport cigarettes. Among these older smokers, Kool ranked second (13.4 percent) and Marlboro was third (7.6 percent).Figure 7.1 Percentages of Youths Aged 12 to 17 Reporting Cigarette Brands Used Most Often in the Past Month, by Race/Ethnicity: 1999
Note: Marlboro and Newport were among the top three brands for all three major racial/ethnic groupings. In contrast to whites and Hispanics, however, the top three cigarette brands for blacks included Kools rather than Camels.
Source: SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1999.
Current smokers who were Hispanic also indicated brand preferences different from those chosen by other racial/ethnic subgroups. As with whites, more than half of adolescent and young adult Hispanic smokers preferred Marlboro (59.7 percent and 64.3 percent, respectively). Among adolescent smokers, Newport ranked second (18.6 percent) and Camel was a distant third (7.1 percent). Newport was the number two choice for Hispanic young adult smokers (16.3 percent), and Camel was again a much smaller third place choice (7.0 percent). Hispanic adult smokers aged 26 or older were most likely to choose Marlboro (60.3 percent), with Newport as their second choice (7.3 percent).
As seen in Table 7.4 in Appendix G, more than half of 18- to 24-year-old full-time college students and persons not enrolled in any college chose Marlboro as their favorite brand (about 57 percent of both groups). However, the second and third choices among these two groups differed. Among 18 to 24 year olds not enrolled in any college, Newport was ranked second (18.7 percent of current smokers) and Camel was ranked third (9.0 percent). Full-time college students who smoked ranked Camel second (17.7 percent) and Newport third (7.8 percent). The popularity of Newport among these groups probably reflects the racial/ethnic distribution of 18- to 24-year-old full-time college students as compared with their peers not enrolled in any college (a higher percentage of African Americans were in the not-enrolled group).
An interesting finding about smokers enrolled full time in college was the large percentage who chose Parliament as their preferred brand in the month prior to the survey (5.4 percent). Parliament was not as popular in any other demographic grouping. Overall, Parliament was the preferred brand of only 1.1 percent of current smokers aged 12 or older and 2.3 percent of the college-aged group.
Although more than a third of the people aged 12 or older reported in 1999 that they had tried cigars at least once in their lives, only 5.5 percent reported the current use of this tobacco product (see Chapter 2). This 5.5 percent translates to 12.1 million past month cigar users. Data on brand preferences for these cigar users by demographic groupings are given in Appendix G.
Table 7.5 in Appendix G lists the cigar brands of choice for all persons aged 12 or older and by age group. Two brands accounted for about a third of all cigar smokers aged 12 or older: Swisher Sweets and Black & Mild, which were each preferred by about 17 percent of cigar smokers. As noted earlier for cigarettes, brand preference for cigars was more concentrated among adolescent and young adult current cigar smokers. Together, Swisher Sweets and Black & Mild were preferred by half or more of these two age groups. Black & Mild, Swisher Sweets, and Phillies accounted for 69.7 percent of cigar smoking among youths. Black & Mild was the choice of 36.7 percent among 12 to17 year olds, Swisher Sweets was the preferred cigar brand for 24.3 percent, and Phillies cigars were chosen by 8.7 percent of this age group. After those three brands, the next highest was Garcia Y Vega, which was preferred by 2.2 percent of adolescents.
Among 18 to 25 year olds, Black & Mild (26.8 percent), Swisher Sweets (21.8 percent), and Phillies cigars (7.2 percent) were chosen by 55.8 percent of current cigar smokers (see Table 7.5 in Appendix G). Other popular choices were Garcia Y Vega (5.4 percent) and Macanudos (4.9 percent).
Older cigar smokers aged 26 or older ranked Swisher Sweets as their number one choice (13.7 percent, which translates to 1 million smokers). Including Swisher Sweets, six brands were popular among older cigar smokers: Black & Mild (9.2 percent), Macanudos (9.2 percent), Backwoods (5.5 percent), Dutch Masters (5.1 percent), and Garcia Y Vega (4.7 percent).
As seen in Table 7.6 in Appendix G, there was some gender difference observed for cigar brand preference. Among adolescent and young adult smokers, Black & Mild was the top-ranked brand for both males and females, although the percentage was higher among females. The Swisher Sweets brand was second among males and females in the two younger age groups, but Black & Mild and Swisher Sweets were preferred by an almost equal number of male 18 to 25 year olds (24.0 and 22.4 percent, respectively). Among male youths, the third-ranked brand of cigars was Garcia Y Vega (2.8 percent). For female adolescent cigar smokers, the third brand of choice was Phillies (7.9 percent). Garcia Y Vega was also the third favorite choice for male young adults (6.3 percent), and Phillies also ranked third for females in this age group (5.3 percent).
For older female cigar smokers, about equal numbers preferred Black & Mild (18.8 percent) and Swisher Sweets (18.4 percent). The third-ranked brand was Backwoods, with 2.0 percent of older females reporting that they preferred it. Among male cigar smokers aged 26 or older, Swisher Sweets (13.0 percent) was the number one choice and Macanudos (10.2 percent) the number two choice. Their third-ranked brand was Black & Mild, with 7.9 percent of older males preferring it. For older males, three additional brands were popular: Backwoods, Dutch Masters, and Garcia Y Vega.
As noted earlier for cigarettes, several racial/ethnic differences were notable with regard to the brand of cigar smoked most often in the month prior to survey (see Table 7.7 in Appendix G). In particular, brand choice was far more concentrated among African-American current cigar smokers as compared with the other two racial/ethnic groups. Among adolescent cigar smokers, Black & Mild was the number one or two choice for all three race/ethnicity groupings. Black & Mild was preferred by 32.4 percent of white, 21.3 percent of Hispanic, and 73.1 percent of African-Americancurrent cigar users aged 12 to 17. This distribution was also observed for 18 to 25 year olds: Black & Mild was preferred by 19.1 percent of whites, 15.3 percent of Hispanics, and 69.9 percent of African-American current cigar smokers. There were too few Hispanic cigar smokers to compare the racial/ethnic distribution for brand preference among cigar smokers aged 26 or older.
As discussed in Chapter 2, the 1999 NHSDA indicated that there were 7.6 million current smokeless tobacco users aged 12 or older. The brands preferred by these current users are listed in Table 7.8 in Appendix G by age group. As noted for both cigarettes and cigars, the concentration for smokeless tobacco brand preference was greatest in the two younger age groups. However, there was less variation by age for brand choice of smokeless tobacco as compared with cigarettes and cigars. For all three age groups, both the number one and the number two favorite choices were the same. The number one choice was Skoal: 33.8 percent of 12 to 17 year olds, 36.1 percent of 18 to 25 year olds, and 27.1 percent of current smokeless tobacco users aged 26 or older. The second most preferred brand was Copenhagen, which was selected by 20.2 percent of 12 to 17 year olds, 23.1 percent of 18 to 25 year olds, and 17.0 percent of current smokeless tobacco users aged 26 or older. Red Man was the third choice among youths and older smokeless tobacco users (11.1 and 9.1 percent, respectively), and Kodiak was the third most popular brand among 18 to 25 year olds (14.7 percent).
