Nielsen Wire » smoking cessation aids http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire Consumer Insights, News, Research & Reports Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:19:47 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 en hourly 1 Smoking Cessation Product Sales Still Hot http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/smoking-cessation-product-sales-still-hot/ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/smoking-cessation-product-sales-still-hot/#comments Tue, 02 Jun 2009 15:03:38 +0000 Nielsen Wire http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=12299 As previously reported, sales of over-the-counter smoking cessation products such as nicotine gum, lozenges and patches have increased as new federal and state taxes have boosted the price of a pack of cigarettes to $10 or more.  And the trend detected in the weeks immediately following the tax increases has not abated: in the most recent four week period ended May 16th, dollar sales of the aids were up 18.9 percent over the same period in 2008, while on an equivalized unit volume basis sales were up 30.1 percent (and up 9.5 percent from the previous four week period in 2009).

“It appears that more people are trying to quit smoking by using over-the-counter aids in 2009 than in recent years.  Whether that is the result of new taxes or just a plain desire to improve their health – or a combination of the two – is unknown, but Americans are spending more money on these products to help them kick the habit,” said Todd Hale, Senior Vice President, Consumer and Shopper Insights at Nielsen.

]]> http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/smoking-cessation-product-sales-still-hot/feed/ 1 Sales of Smoking Cessation Aids Rise with Cigarette Taxes http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/sales-of-smoking-cessation-aids-rise-with-cigarette-taxes/ http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/consumer/sales-of-smoking-cessation-aids-rise-with-cigarette-taxes/#comments Fri, 08 May 2009 13:54:19 +0000 Nielsen Wire http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/?p=11499 Earlier this year, smokers around the country were hit with a 61.1 cent increase in the federal tax on cigarettes.  Combined with state and local taxes, packs of cigarettes in some areas now cost $10 or more.  Some officials say that in addition to raising much-needed revenue, higher prices will cause more smokers to kick the habit.  Based on an analysis of sales of over-the-counter smoking cessation products such as nicotine gum, patches and lozenges, Nielsen found that high prices may indeed prompt some smokers to try to quit.

For the 52-weeks ended April 18, 2009, sales of these products on an equivalized unit volume (EUV) basis grew 4.4 percent over the same period in 2008 (1,747,202,576 versus 1,673,456,878).  In 2008, EUV grew 9.3 percent over the same time period in 2007.

More telling, however, are figures from the first four months of 2009.  For the four-week period ended January 24th, EUV was up 14.2 percent from the previous four-week period, and up 10.2 percent over the same time period in 2008.  For the four weeks ended February 21st, EUV increased 12.3 percent over the previous four-week period, and up almost 20 percent the same period a year ago.  The four weeks ended March 21st showed a 4.6 percent increase from the preceding period and a jump of 23.3 percent over the same period last year.  Finally, for the four-weeks ended April 18th, sales on an EUV basis declined 3.5 percent from the previous period, but posted a 20.2 percent increase over the same period in 2008.

“The data does suggest that smokers may have used the recent tobacco tax hikes as an opportunity to quit,” said Todd Hale, Senior Vice President, Consumer and Shopper Insights at Nielsen.  “We will continue to track the sales of over-the-counter smoking cessation aids to determine if sales increase further or whether this is a temporary trend.”

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