New Smokeless Tobacco Products: Experiences of a Test Market State

Kylie Menagh, MPH

Oregon Public Health Division

kylie.a.menagh@state.or.us

Today, we’ll talk about

• Promotions/Sampling background

• Camel Snus:– Test-Marketing &

Messages– Public Health Response

• Camel Dissolvables:– Test-Marketing &

Messages– Public Health Response

• “What’s Next?”

Tobacco Promotion in Oregon

• Since 1998 (at least): Marlboro & Camel nights, rodeo sponsorship, racing team, Lorillard Hoop It Up

• 2006-7: Camel Snus test marketed

• 2007: Camel No. 9 promoted heavily

• 2009: Camel Orbs, Strips, Sticks test marketed

A “Lite” history of tobacco promotions:

Tobacco Sampling in Oregon**not including in-store giveaways, or tax-stamped cigarette packs

• Since 1999, tobacco companies have given away $4.12 million’s worth of non-cigarette tobacco products

Value of free samples of tobacco products in Oregon, 1999-2008

$0.00

$200,000.00

$400,000.00

$600,000.00

$800,000.00

$1,000,000.00

$1,200,000.00

$1,400,000.00

1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

OTP Cigarettes

So, Why Portland? Why Oregon?

• Portland is an urban population, known for being liberal, young, and edgy… but we are also primarily a rural state

Why Oregon?We have a best practices-based, policy-focused, comprehensive tobacco control program… but program cuts have reduced local capacity to monitor and respond

Why test smokeless in Oregon?

Smokeless tobacco use in Oregon is pretty similar to the rest of the country

Adult Males 6.5%

Males, 18-24 9%

Rural Adult Males 8%

8th Grade Males 5%

11th Grade Males 13.6%

Why Oregon?• Twice as many cigarettes sampled in OR than WA... we have half the

population• Washington state licenses and monitors tobacco sampling 70.155.050• California has a robust monitoring system• Portland seems to be the preferred test market on the West Coast

Free samples of cigarettes

0

50,000

100,000

150,000

200,000

250,000

300,000

350,000

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008

Pac

ks g

iven

aw

ay

WA Pack equivalent OR pack equivalent

Camel Snus…

Rhymes with Noose

2006: Camel Snus comes to Portland, OR, & Austin, TX

• Snus is a moist snuff product that comes in small, teabag-like pouches.

• Steam-cured rather than fire-cured.

• Not fermented. • Doesn’t cause spitting.• Primarily consumed in

Norway and Sweden, until recently introduced to the US by RJR, PM, and Lorillard.

Highly Visible in Stores

• Neon-lit, refrigerated displays on counter tops

• “How To” Brochures• Storefront posters• Sandwich board signs

on sidewalks• Signs on telephone

poles

In-store Brochures: Messages?

Direct Mail: Messages

• Coupons• Collectible tins• Reframing smokeless

tobacco for new audiences… “not dip”

• “Get the pleasure, avoid the smoke”

• Package has been redesigned to look more like a cell phone, less like a can of chew

Alternative Weekly Newspaper Inserts & Ads

• “The Abridged Guide to Snusing”– At least 3 different editions

• “Pleasure for Wherever”• Positioned as urbane,

adventurous, and convenient to use in “the infinite list of places and circumstances where it is appropriate to Snus”… (and it is illegal to smoke)

How to Snus: Messages?

Where to Snus: Messages?

Alternative Weekly Newspaper Ads: Messages?

Online

Response: Media Advocacy

• Key Messages:– Targeting kids– Marketed as

something discreet• Appeals to kids• Undermines quitting

intentions due to smokefree workplaces

– Addictive and harmful• Not a healthy

alternative• Not a cessation product

Response: Media Advocacy

"I see it as a young adult marketing strategy, and we have a lot of hip young adults in this city," Cushing said. And "if it appeals to a 22-year-old, I think you can assume it will appeal to a 16-year-old. Because what do 16-year-olds want to be? Twenty-two.“

The Tobacco-Free Coalition of Oregon's Tabithia Engle was blunter. "Nicotine is an extremely addictive drug," she said. "The tobacco industry is in Oregon trying to hook our kids.”

The Oregonian. Snus: No smoke, no spit, but many worry about kids. Sunday, January 07, 2007

Response: monitoring

• BRFSS

• Coordinated with national partners (Lois Biener, Bob Anderson) to support their research– Focus groups– Monitoring marketing messages

Now what??

And then in 2007…

Camel No. 9

Camel No. 9

And what now?!

2009

Wall Street Journal. Sept. 14, 2008

Reynolds moves to be on top when smoke clears: Dissolvable tobacco offered as smoking bans proliferate; critics say it looks like candy

“R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is introducing three dissolvable smokeless products in its latest bid to make its tobacco more accessible within a society that's clamping down on smoking.”

2009: Camel Dissolvables

• 2009: Camel Orbs, Strips, Sticks

• Tested in Portland, OR; Columbus, OH; Indianapolis, IN

• What are they?– Finely milled tobacco

held together with food-grade binders

•http://goodhealth.freeservers.com/Camel_Orbs_compared_with_Tic_Tacs.jpg

Any familiar messages here?

Dissolvables: Alternative Weekly Newspaper inserts with coupons

Online

And, of course, at a store near you

Response: Media Advocacy

“The tobacco industry is gearing up to trump anti-smoking legislation by peddling new dissolvable nicotine products -- still addictive and risky like cigarettes, but without the smoke.”

Response: Local Media Advocacy

Medford, OR • "The increase of

smokeless tobacco use here among teens is significant and alarming — and dissolvable tobacco is just as addictive as smoking," said Stevenson.

• Also described health effects

• TV coverage http://kdrv.com/news/local/118051

Response: Public Policy

• Assisted Sen. Merkeley’s office• http://merkley.senate.gov/issues/issue/?id=F07D93FE-8476-4B33-A33F-FB73B801C519

“In response to a drop in the number of cigarette smokers and new laws limiting smoking in public, Big Tobacco has resorted to outrageous tactics to hook a new generation of our children on tobacco.”

• Same key messages

Oregon Legislative EffortsHB 2358: Non-cigarette Tobacco Sampling Ban• Providing free tobacco samples is a deliberate method

for recruiting new and younger tobacco users, who often become addicted to tobacco for life.

• This bill was meant to help prevent Oregon youth from starting to use tobacco products, preventing future tobacco-related deaths and health care costs.

• Passed the House with a vote of 49 to 11 but died in committee in the Senate

What WILL they think up next???

• Will we see an increase in smokeless use?• Will new populations initiate smokeless?• Will we see dual usage?• Will we see reductions in tobacco cessation?

Public Health will be there…monitoring, educating, advocating