October 31, 2009 - Federal health officials banned the sale of flavored cigarettes on Tuesday, September 22nd in its first major action since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was given authority of regulate tobacco. The FDA Commissioner, Dr. Margaret A. Hamburg, was quick to point out that these flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular smokers.
Unfortunately, these flavored cigarettes at present are not even one percent of the cigarette market. The three biggest U.S. tobacco companies say they do not produce any flavored cigarettes other than menthol varieties (but they did e.g., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco's Exotic Blends). Cloves for example was less than a tenth of one percent of the U.S. cigarette consumption.
Further action on the part of the FDA's Tobacco Center must include an expansion of the ban to include all flavored tobacco products such as cigars, cigarillos, snuff, chewing tobacco, dissolvable tobacco products, blunt wraps (The City of Boston has already banned these products). As pointed out in the FDA Parental Advisory - these kinds of flavors make tobacco products especially appealing to kids, and can lead to a lifetime of tobacco addiction.
Let's take a look at the typical convenience store (c-store) in the U.S. and the various promotions that every patron is exposed to with an emphasis on flavored tobacco products. (Recently UBS Tobacco Analyst Nik Modi noted that c-stores as a channel represent roughly 70% of all U.S. tobacco sales.) First let's look at the checkout counter where we find the big three U.S. tobacco companies: Philip Morris USA (PM), R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and Lorillard aggressively competing for every inch of advertising space. The point-of-purchase environment, i.e., the convenience store, is the main channel through which tobacco companies can entice new tobacco users and retain existing smokers. Mr. Szymanczyk, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Altria Group, Inc. has stated that Philip Morris owes their success to the ability to connect with adult tobacco consumers through the in-store experience and the development of one-to-one relationships using their database of 25 million adult cigarette smokers (Remarks, Investor Presentation, 3/11/2008).
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Below are a series of images of tobacco displays from your typical c-store all attempting to to entice the customer to give this inexpensive, glitzy stuff a try. Users of these products have told us how smooth and mild these flavored products are - you never taste the tobacco.
Click on image to enlarge..
Click on image to enlarge..
Altria's John Middleton Black & Mild Cigars are popular in urban centers across the country. Black & Mild Cigars' retail share of the machine made large cigar category is at 30.9 percent - based on 3rd quarter 2009 results. Share growth was driven (in part) by a recent successful launch of Black & Mild Wood Tip and Black & Mild Wood Tip Wine flavor. (Altria Group q3 2009 Earnings Call Transcript - keypoints..) Nearly a quarter of 18- to 24-year-old blacks in the Baltimore area smoke Black and Mild cigars. Black & Milds in Baltimore, Baltimore City Health Dept., 10/2007.
Click on image to enlarge..
Click on image to enlarge..
Skoal is available in a variety of flavors: Wintergreen, Straight, Mint, Cherry, Classic, Spearmint, Berry Blend, Vanilla Blend, Apple Blend, Peach Blend, Citrus Blend.
Click on image to enlarge..
Let's not forget blunt wraps - already banned in Boston. New Royal Blunt in a re-designed stay-fresh pouch comes in 10 flavors to choose from: Sour Apple, Strawberry/Banana, Strawberry, Wet Mango, Purple Haze, Blueberry, Passion Fruit, Georgia Peach, Jamaican Rum and Black Cherry.
Dutch Master Sport Honey Cigarillos - B1G1F promotion - price for one cigar 30 cents..
Our children are the future, as a result our highest priority has to be to keep children from beginning to use tobacco products. Let's ban all flavored tobacco products.
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