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Selling cigarettes loose, single but deadly

28 Mar 2022

  • Local study analyses potential benefits of limiting the sale of single cigarettes
By Sumudu Chamara  Even though Sri Lanka has taken a number of initiatives, such as increasing prices of and taxes on cigarettes, prohibiting advertisements on tobacco products, and making it mandatory to display pictorial health warnings on cigarette packets, more steps need to be taken to discourage smoking, and the abovementioned steps need to be further strengthened.  At the same time, since the country is going through an economic crisis, discouraging smoking would be beneficial economically as well. These matters were highlighted in a study report issued by the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre (ADIC) recently. The report, titled “Single Cigarette Sales-Bait for the Vulnerable Groups”, analysed trends of sale of single cigarettes among vulnerable groups and interventions by the tobacco company, based on data gathered from November to December, 2021. The study was conducted on the basis of data gathered through surveys, interviews, and observations from 249 shop owners selling cigarettes and other tobacco products and 250 users of such products. It covered five districts, namely Colombo, Monaragala, Hambantota, Nuwara Eliya, and Jaffna. Sale of single cigarettes The study found that the majority (93.6%) of customers buy cigarettes as single sticks. The percentage of consumers buying one cigarette per day was 77.5%, while the percentage of consumers buying two cigarettes per day was 14.1%. However, 6.4% purchased cigarettes as packs (20 sticks). The report also showed that only 2% of consumers bought three to five cigarettes a day, which is the least popular form of purchasing cigarettes among consumers. The majority of consumers (86%) had stated that the availability of cigarettes as single sticks had increased their consumption, and only 14% had mentioned that it had no impact on them, findings showed. The report added: “The majority of users (83.6%) believe that it would decrease their use if the Government prohibits selling cigarettes as single sticks. According to 14.8% of users, there would be no change and only 1.6% had stated that it will increase their use. However, customers themselves have realised that buying single sticks has eventually increased their use, and they believe that banning them (sale of single sticks) can affect their use.” Incentives and profits  With regard to the method of purchase of cigarettes by shop owners, the report said that 45.8% of shop owners purchased cigarettes from the stocks that were delivered to them by the tobacco company or agents, while 38.6% of shop owners purchased cigarettes from wholesale shops. Only 19.7% visited agencies selling cigarettes to purchase them.  According to the report, the majority of shop owners (43.4%) purchased cigarettes daily, while 30.1% purchased cigarettes weekly. A total of 19.7% of shop owners purchased cigarettes every two to three days, while only 6.8% purchased cigarettes to last for more than a week.  With regard to purchasing cigarettes from vendors, the highest percentage of shop owners (82.3%) made cash payments, according to the report. While only 4.4% of shop owners purchased cigarettes on credit, in which case the payments were made later to the tobacco company, around 13.3% of shop owners used both cash and credit methods to purchase the goods. The report also revealed that incentives were awarded by the tobacco company to shop owners, regarding which the report said: “From shop owners, a percentage of 33.6% have received different types of incentives from the tobacco company. Giving out cigarettes for free is the most popular method to motivate buyers (8.9%). Hotel packages, invitations to parties, vouchers, and trips were given to 7.5%, 6.8%, 5.4%, and 5% of shop owners, respectively. However, 66.4% of shop owners reported that they have not received any kind of incentives from the tobacco company.” With regard to profits, the report, based on data gathered from shop owners, said that shop owners make different amounts of profits depending on the type of cigarettes, and that these profits range from Rs. 50 cents to Rs. 2. In terms of income, however, only 37.3% of shop owners had said that they believe that the sale of cigarettes is a profitable business. The majority (62.7%) of them had said that selling cigarettes is not a profitable business. According to the study’s findings, shop owners sell cigarettes due to three main beliefs, namely selling cigarettes boosts their business (65.6%), selling cigarettes helps increase the number of customers (48.4%), and selling cigarettes is profitable (41.9%). Of the shop owners who were part of the study, 64.3% had decided to continue selling cigarettes even though it did help them earn a considerable profit. However, 32.9% of shop owners had said that they expect to discontinue selling cigarettes, while 2.8% of shop owners had not reached any decision as to whether to continue or discontinue the sale of cigarettes. Indirect promotional activities  The study also analysed how cigarettes or cigarette packs are displayed in shops, and the findings showed that even though 76.7% of shop owners did not display cigarette packs to their customers, 23.3% of shop owners did.  “In the cigarette packet, pictorial health warnings are displayed on both sides. From the respondents, 41.4% arrange cigarette packets displaying pictorial health warnings on the front side, while 32.8% store them displaying pictorial health warnings on the back of packets,” the report said, adding that 25.9% of sellers display cigarette packets in a way that prevents pictorial health warnings from being visible to customers. In addition, the report noted that the tobacco company takes various approaches to promote their product indirectly. Even though 43.4% of shop owners had said that there are no Ceylon Tobacco Company (CTC) promotions inside their outlets, the report said that a higher percentage (56.6%) of shop owners had stated that they have such promotions. “The most significant way of branding the CTC is through the price display, which has been carried out by 71.6% of the shops. While 39.7% of the shops have a signboard demarcating the legal age for smoking (21 years), 11.3% of the shops have established separate places for smoking. CTC provides name boards for shops with their trade loyalty programme named “Abhisheka” displayed on the side and 5.7% of the shops have received these name boards. A small percentage (5%) displays the details of CTC agents,” the report added. Moreover, the report described interventions by the tobacco company to promote the sale of cigarettes. According to the report, these interventions include meeting shop owners and providing information, inviting them to parties, presenting gifts, and intervening in legal issues.  “Of the respondents, 27.6% have not experienced any sort of intervention from the tobacco company. However, 44.7% of shop owners have met CTC agents and have obtained information. A total of 17.1% have received gifts, 9.8% have been invited to parties, and 0.8% have gained support in legal issues,” it said, noting that the tobacco company had made such interventions in more than half of the shops (that were a part of the study) in all five districts. Consumers Of the 250 consumers that were interviewed, the highest percentage of users (47.2%) belonged to the 25-40 age group, while 34.8% were in the over 40 years age group and 18% were in the below 24 years age group.  “The clientele of the tobacco company is not limited to a specific age group. Rather, it covers a wide range (of age groups) starting from youth to adulthood,” the report pointed out. With regard to the profession of consumers, the report revealed that most of the consumers are engaged in psychically demanding jobs including driving, carpentry, labour, and farming, while the highest percentages of respondents work as labourers (17.2%) and drivers (12%). Between 5 and 7% of users are engaged in fishing, farming, and sales, and 6.8% were unemployed. The report claimed that people who earn a daily wage seem to spend a considerable portion of their income on cigarettes on a daily basis. Another highlight of the study was findings with regard to methods of payments used by consumers to purchase cigarettes and how the price increase has affected consumers. The findings showed that the majority of consumers (97.2%) pay cash and only 0.4% obtain cigarettes on credit. The report noted that while a few consumers (2.4%) purchase cigarettes either by paying cash or on credit, since the majority buys cigarettes in cash, the amount they buy should be affordable to them.  “Therefore, buying single cigarettes is rather convenient than buying a packet of cigarettes,” it noted. When respondents were asked about whether the recent price hike had affected their cigarette consumption, 1.2% had mentioned that it had increased the usage, while 55.6% had stated that it decreased usage. However, according to the report, 43.2% of consumers had revealed that it had no impact on their cigarette usage, and on this basis, the report claimed that it is clear that a price increase had a considerable impact on the purchasing power of consumers. “Due to the recent price increase, 19.2% of consumers have switched to another brand or a different tobacco product, while the remaining 80.8% did not switch brands or products.  “The price increase shows a considerable effect on the buyers, as 67.4% of users have moved to Capstan, while 8.7% and 6.5% have switched to the brands Navy Cut and Bristol, respectively. An equal percentage of users have changed their preference to John Player Gold Leaf and Dunhill (2.2% each). Study findings also showed that during the last six months, use of cigarettes had decreased among 61.2% of consumers, and that only 6.8% of consumers had increased smoking. A total of 32% consumers had mentioned no such change. As the reason for reduced consumption of cigarettes, 43.8% had mentioned the Covid-19 pandemic, and 25.5% had said that they reduced smoking because it is expensive. However, a small percentage had cited smoking being a bad habit, health reasons, and societal pressure, as their reasons. The majority of shop owners (86.3%) do not let consumers smoke inside their shops, while 13.7% of respondents allow smoking inside their shop, according to the report. According to the observations of survey officers, 12.9% of shops allow consumers to smoke inside, while 87.1% did not allow it. The report concluded that therefore, both the responses of shop owners and observations of survey officers were unanimous. Noting that a high percentage (73.2%) of consumers had stated that being allowed to smoke inside shops had increased their smoking habits, while 26.8% had mentioned that it did not have any effect, the report said: “This data shows that providing facilities for customers to smoke is an incentive. Therefore, establishing separate smoking areas in shops can be identified as an indirect promotion method carried out by the tobacco company. Recommendations  Among the recommendations put forward by the report were, focusing on the income generation and community-level impact of the sale of single cigarettes; how the sale of single cigarettes could hinder, encourage, or have no impact on smoking initiation, continuation, and cessation; how the sale of single cigarettes weaken the impact of pictorial health warnings; the behaviour of the tobacco market during the pandemic and how the CTC had attempted to position itself as a friend of public health during the pandemic; and the growth of small-scale shops established by the CTC and their function as promotional hubs, when conducting future researches. In addition, it recommended that the proposed ban on the sale of single cigarettes be implemented, and a proper tax method (for cigarettes) be formulated. Providing additional resources to tobacco control and smoking cessation programmes that target hard-to-reach groups, was another recommendation. Regarding the recommendations, the report said: “As the majority of users are individuals engaged in physically demanding jobs and purchase single cigarettes, the implementation of the proposed ban on the sale of single cigarettes is pivotal. At a time where the country is facing an economic crisis, guiding them towards proper management of their income is a crucial need.” As the study pointed out, indirect promotion of cigarettes or other tobacco products has continued for a long time even after direct promotional activities were banned. Even though the way in which such activities affect cigarette consumers may vary, these practical matters should receive more attention than laws and regulations.


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