Point-of-Sale Cigarette Marketing, Urge to Buy Cigarettes, and Impulse Purchases of Cigarettes: Results From a Population-Based Survey

Aims: Our aim was to examine the association of exposure to point-of-sale (POS) cigarette marketing for one's regular brand, as well as any brand of cigarettes, with the urge to buy cigarettes and frequency of impulse purchases of cigarettes.

Methods: Nine hundred ninety-nine smokers in Omaha, Nebraska were interviewed via telephone. Cigarette marketing was measured by asking respondents questions about noticing pack displays, advertisements, and promotions such as discounts for their regular brand as well as any brand of cigarettes in their neighborhoods stores. We measured urge to buy cigarettes with the question "When you are in a store in your neighborhood that sells tobacco products, how often do you get an urge to buy cigarettes?" We measured frequency of impulse purchases of cigarettes with the question "When you are shopping in a store in your neighborhood for something other than cigarettes, how often do you decide to buy cigarettes?" We estimated ordinary least squares linear regression models to address the study aim.

Results: Higher levels of POS marketing for one's regular brand and any brands of cigarettes were associated with more frequent urges to buy (P < .001 and P < .001, respectively) and impulse purchases of cigarettes (P = .01 and P = .013, respectively), after adjusting for covariates.

Conclusion: Exposure to POS marketing for one's own brand of cigarette as well as any brand is associated with urges to buy and impulse purchases of cigarettes.

Implications: Existing studies on the association of POS cigarette marketing with urge to buy and an impulse purchase of cigarettes only focus on cigarette pack displays, not on advertisements and promotions. Also, these studies make no distinction between marketing for the smokers' regular brand and any brand of cigarettes. This study found that Exposure to POS marketing for one's own brand of cigarette as well as any brand is associated with urges to buy and impulse purchases of cigarettes. Our findings can provide part of the evidence-base needed by the Food and Drug Administration or local authorities to regulate POS marketing.