Money and Health Messages as Incentives for Smoking Low Tar/Nicotine Cigarettes: Changes in Consumption and Exhaled Carbon Monoxide

• Published in: British Journal of Addiction 1982-03, Vol.77 (1), p.21-34
• Main Authors: Jaffe, Jerome H., Kanzler, Maureen, Friedman, Larry, Kaplan, Thelma
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Advertising as Topic - trends; Carbon Monoxide; Female; Humans; Male; Nicotine; Smoking; Tars
• ISSN: 0952-0481; 0965-2140; 2056-5178
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1982.tb03247.x

Summary Cigarette brands advertised as ‘low’ tar are increasing sales yearly; undoubtedly because smokers hope they are less hazardous than ‘high’ tar/nicotine cigarettes. However, it is questionable how much switchers to ‘low’ tar/nicotine brands actually reduce their exposure to toxic components in smoke. A switching project examined the cigarette purchases over fifteen weeks of 121 paid volunteers in four experimental and one control group (separately within sex). Experimental groups received differing combinations of money and/or health message incentives to encourage switching to brands with lower tar/nicotine delivery. Subjects in all but one experimental group significantly decreased tar/nicotine exposure; controls did not. Money incentives produced the greatest decrease. The effect of health messages was unclear. Switchers' exhaled carbon monoxide (CO) remained higher than would be expected from the theoretically lower CO delivery of their brands. Small increases in number of cigarettes smoked per day did not account adequately for the persistently high exhaled CO.