Association of point-of-purchase tobacco advertising and promotions with choice of usual brand among teenage smokers

The objective is to determine the relationship between brand-specific advertising and promotions in convenience stores for Marlboro and Camel cigarettes and choice of usual brand among school students. A cross-sectional survey was designed that merged records of store tobacco advertising and promotions. The survey was administered to 3,890 U.S. high school smokers with a usual brand, matched to 196 convenience stores. Choice of Marlboro as a usual brand was associated with presence of a Marlboro gift with purchase (p <.001) and a greater brand share of interior (p = .05) and exterior (p = .05) advertising voice for Marlboro. Choice of Camel as a usual brand was associated with a greater share of interior advertising voice for Camel (p <.001) but was unrelated to a Camel gift with purchase promotions (p > .05) and negatively associated with a greater share of exterior advertising voice for Camel (p < .001). The results are consistent with the notion that Marlboro-specific advertising and promotions may influence choice of Marlboro as a usual brand to smoke among teens, but resultsfor Camel are mixed and inconclusive. Further research is required to confirm and extend these findings.