Smokeless Tobacco Target For Kids?

Ads Declines for Cigarettes, Increase for Smokeless Tobacco

The amount spent on cigarette advertising and promotion by the largest cigarette companies in the United States declined from $12.49 billion in 2006 to $10.86 billion in 2007, and again to $9.94 billion in 2008, according to a report released this week by the Federal Trade Commission.

A separate report on the major manufacturers of smokeless tobacco products in the United States found that their spending on advertising and promotion rose from $354.1 million in 2006 to $411.3 million in 2007 and to $547.9 million in 2008. The dollar value of sales by these manufacturers rose from $2.59 billion in 2006 to $2.70 billion in 2007, and $2.76 billion in 2008, and the amount by weight of smokeless tobacco sold rose from 115.82 million pounds in 2006 to 118.23 million pounds in 2007, rising again to 119.92 million pounds in 2008.

The largest spending category in both 2007 and 2008 was spending on price discounts paid to cigarette retailers or wholesalers in order to reduce the price of cigarettes to consumers. This category accounted for $7.70 billion, or 70.9 percent of total spending on advertising and promotion in 2007, and $7.17 billion, or 72.1 percent of that total, in 2008.

The number of cigarettes sold or given away to wholesalers and retailers in the United States declined from 350.5 billion in 2006 to 342.8 billion in 2007, and to 322.6 billion in 2008.

To read the full reports, click on Federal Trade Commission Cigarette Report for 2007 and 2008, and Federal Trade Commission Smokeless Tobacco Report for 2007 and 2008.

The Commission has issued reports on cigarette sales, advertising, and promotion since 1967, and similar reports on smokeless tobacco since 1987. The Commission vote authorizing the staff to issue the reports was 5-0.