Smoking and Drinking : Advertising

by National Institute of Health

(Page 2 of 5)

In a study of adolescents who, when first interviewed, had never engaged in smoking, Pierce and colleagues found at the 3-year followup that having a favorite cigarette advertisement as well as possessing or being willing to use a tobacco promotional item at the initial interview predicted either future smoking or the increased likelihood of trying tobacco. Unger and Chen reported that the age of smoking initiation occurred earlier among adolescents who had a favorite tobacco advertisement, had received tobacco promotional items, or were willing to use tobacco promotional items. Research has also shown that awareness of beer commercials among fifth and sixth graders is significantly related to intentions to drink as adults, suggesting that alcohol advertising may influence adolescents to be more favorably disposed to drinking. Therefore, advertising has been found to be a potential risk factor for both smoking and drinking among adolescents.

Economic and Availability Factors Research suggests that adolescent smokers or drinkers are more likely than adults to reduce or quit smoking or drinking in response to increased cigarette or alcohol prices. Harris and Chan found that 15- to 17-year-olds, compared with 18- to 20-year-olds, were more likely to respond to an increase in cigarette prices by quitting smoking rather than by reducing the number of cigarettes they smoked per day. Grossman and colleagues reported price elasticities of demand for cigarettes of -1.20 for 12- to 17-year-olds and -0.15 for people older than age 35, meaning that a 10-percent increase in the price of cigarettes would lower per capita consumption for these two populations by 12 and 1.5 percent, respectively. Other research suggests that a 10-percent increase in cigarette prices would reduce the number of teens who smoke by 7 percent.

Alcohol use by young people is also more sensitive to price than drinking among adults. In one study, the price elasticity of demand for heavy drinking was -0.92 for people age 18 and older, compared with -2.24 for those between ages 18 and 21. The authors suggest that adults respond more to increases in the potential future costs or consequences of smoking and drinking, whereas young people are more sensitive to increases in price, because future costs are less important to them and young people have more stringent budget constraints than do adults.

College students, however, may be less responsive to alcohol prices than are other groups of young people. Chaloupka and Wechsler examined drinking data from 17,000 college students in relation to beer prices and drunk driving laws in the locations of the participating colleges. The results suggested that college students were less responsive to alcohol prices than were other groups but that more severe drunk driving penalties tended to reduce both drinking and binge drinking. These effects were found among underage and older students, both male and female.

In another study that used data from multiple sources, including surveys of high school seniors conducted as part of the Monitoring the Future project, researchers found a negative relationship between alcohol prices and both alcohol use and motor vehicle accident mortality and a positive relationship between college completion rates and alcohol prices. The researchers concluded that increases in Federal taxes on alcoholic beverages are effective in reducing youth alcohol consumption and alcohol-related injuries and deaths. In fact, Chaloupka and colleagues reported that if the Federal excise tax on beer had been indexed to the rate of inflation since 1951, about 1,660 fewer 18- to 20-year-olds would have been killed in motor vehicle accidents in a typical year between 1982 and 1988. These studies show that adolescents are sensitive to increases in both tobacco and alcohol prices and that they are generally more sensitive to price than are adults.

The ease of obtaining cigarettes also influences smoking among adolescents. Both the general availability of cigarettes and offers of cigarettes from parents and siblings have been found to predict smoking onset among teens. Vending machines increase the availability of tobacco products to youth and are used more often by children and adolescents than by the general public.

Tobacco and Alcohol Use Among Adults

Marketing practices related to the sale of alcohol and tobacco products, such as advertising, pricing, and availability, have been shown to influence the use of these substances among adults. Alcohol and tobacco advertisements depict drinking and smoking as fun activities that people do to relax and socialize. Advertising has been found to influence consumption among adults as well as youth. A meta-analysis of 48 studies that examined cigarette sales in relation to advertising and other factors, such as price, found that national spending on tobacco advertising was significantly related to tobacco sales. In another study that used data from a national survey of adults, researchers estimated that a 50-percent increase in the price of cigarettes could cause a 12.5-percent decrease in cigarette use. The findings suggest that younger smokers would be more likely than older smokers to quit smoking in response to a price increase and that Hispanic smokers and African-American smokers would be more likely than white smokers to quit. In their review, Chaloupka and colleagues concluded that increased alcohol taxes and prices generally result in decreased alcohol consumption and related problems. In addition, they reported that research has shown a strong positive relationship between the increased availability of alcoholic beverages and th e consequences of alcohol use and abuse.

Restrictions on the sale and use of alcohol have had complex and controversial effects on alcohol use. Although some groups continue to promote tighter restrictions on use, others argue that the Prohibition amply demonstrated the ineffectiveness of legal bans on drinking.

About the Author

NIH is the nation's medical research agency - making important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.