Cutting coupons cuts quitting

Tobacco companies’ aggressive coupon marketing tactics could reduce the likelihood that current smokers will quit, according to a PRNewswire press note quoting new research published in an article in Tobacco Control.

The report is said to be the first of its kind to illustrate that cigarette coupons have a negative association with smoking cessation.

“We know that raising the price of cigarettes encourages smokers to quit,” said Dr. Kelvin Choi, Research Associate at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health and lead author of the article. “Coupons are a way to bring the price down, and keep people smoking. Smokers who receive these coupons think the tobacco industry cares about their health and well-being, even though industry documents prove that they know their products are addictive and deadly.”

Choi analyzed data collected through the Minnesota Adult Tobacco Survey (MATS) Cohort Study, funded by ClearWay MinnesotaSM, which recruited 2,436 participants who were smokers and recent quitters in 2007, and surveyed them between 2008 and 2010.

The findings were said to include:

* Nearly half of smokers reported receiving cigarette coupons;

* Eighty per cent of those who received coupons redeemed them;

* Women, younger smokers and heavier smokers are disproportionately targeted by coupons;

* Smokers who use coupons are more likely to believe that tobacco companies care about their health, do their best to make cigarettes safe and tell the truth;

* Smokers who redeem coupons are 84 per cent less likely to quit smoking.