ArticleTobacco control2023
Follow the money: a closer look at US tobacco industry marketing expenditures.
Article in Tobacco control, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
What it found
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Who cites it
15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Removing Price Discounts From the Tobacco Retail Environment: Effects on College Students' Risk of Using Smokeless Tobacco, Little Cigars, and Electronic Nicotine Delivery Devices.Journal of studies on alcohol and drugs · 2026Trial
- Causal effects of point-of-sale cigarette promotions and subjective social status on cigarette craving: a randomised within-person experiment.Tobacco control · 2025Trial
- Marketing expenditures and industry transformation: are cigarette companies really shifting away from cigarettes?Tobacco control · 2026Article
- SimSmoke simulation models by educational status: past and future US trends and the potential role of policy.Tobacco control · 2025Article
- SimSmoke simulation models distinguished by race/ethnicity: past and future trends and the potential role of policy.Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Monographs · 2025Article
- Impact of Spanish gambling regulations on online gambling behavior and marketing strategies.Harm reduction journal · 2025Article
- The longitudinal association between coupon receipt and established cigarette smoking initiation among young adults in USA.Tobacco control · 2024Article
- Detrimental Industries' Sponsorship in Football Clubs Across Ten Major Leagues from 2000-2022: A Retrospective Study.Nutrients · 2024Article
- Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Adolescent Combustible Tobacco Smoking From 2014 to 2020: Declines Are Lagging Among Non-Hispanic Black Youth.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2024Article
- Commercial Tobacco Retailers Need to Be Included in Research on Policies Restricting the Sale of Menthol Cigarettes.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2024Article
- Do Tobacco Companies Have an Incentive to Promote "Harm Reduction" Products?: The Role of Competition.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023Article
- The Longitudinal Association Between Cigarette Coupon Receipt and Short-term Smoking Cessation Among US Adults.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023Article
- Sex and Sexual Identity Differences in Poly-tobacco Use and Psychological Distress in U.S. Adults: Results From the National Health Interview Survey.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2023Article
- Using Regulatory Stances to See All the Commercial Determinants of Health.The Milbank quarterly · 2022Article
- Trends in Cigarette Marketing Expenditures, 1975-2019: An Analysis of Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Reports.Nicotine & tobacco research : official journal of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionWhile much of the concern with tobacco industry marketing has focused on direct media advertising, a less explored form of marketing strategy is to discount prices. Price discounting is important because it keeps the purchase price low and can undermine the impact of tax increases.
methodsWe examine annual US marketing expenditures from 1975 to 2019 by the largest cigarette and smokeless tobacco companies as reported to the Federal Trade Commission. We consider three categories: direct advertising, promotional allowances and price discounting. In addition to considering trends in these expenditures, we examine how price discounting expenditures relate to changes in product prices and excise taxes.
resultsUS direct advertising expenditures for cigarettes fell from 80% of total industry marketing expenditures in 1975 to less than 3% in 2019, while falling from 39% in 1985 to 6% in 2019 for smokeless tobacco. Price discounting expenditures for cigarettes became prominent after the Master Settlement Agreement and related tax increases in 2002. By 2019, 87% of cigarette marketing expenditures were for price discounts and 7% for promotional allowances. Smokeless marketing expenditures were similar: 72% for price promotions and 13% for promotional allowances. Price discounting increased with prices and taxes until reaching their currently high levels.
conclusionsBetween 1975 and 2019, direct advertising dramatically fell while price discounting and promotional expenditures increased. Local, state and federal policies are needed that apply non-tax mechanisms to increase tobacco prices and restrict industry contracts to offset industry marketing strategies. Further study is needed to better understand industry decisions about marketing expenditures.
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