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P~od~ce t Fede ! a Co " ion pursuant to subpoena

July 3, 1974 Mr. F. H. Christopher, Jr. :% .......... :/purpose of this memorandum is to answer the question "What ~.es smokers to select their first brand of cigarette?"-~ ..~.~....~ OD U C T ION .~..- 9:,~ .. . , ~i!ii!discussion which follows will cover the age at which people ~ ..... ~:~~':> a ...... , ~~[ lly start smoklng, thelr inltlal reasons for smoklng ,<~..~.~iiiibrands they initially select for regular use and their i~'~sons for selecting that brand. For legal reasons, we have been unable to directly survey smokers under 18 years of age (as will be shown most smokers begin smoking :,egularly and select a usual brand at or before the age of 18). i~,.r:efore, much of our information is drawn from secondary : ~:~::::-:~:~ ~:~:i: :S.~,..~rces and we have to hypothesize to a considerable extent as /~i~hat causes initial brand selection because no comprehensive ':!i~i~y we know of has directly addressed this issue. ~.~TART I NG AGE ~0% of men smokers start smoking fairly regularly before .~ia.!le of 18 and virtually all start by the age of 25. Women .i~'~B to begin smoking at a slightly olcder" age. He-re is a brief j~ary table; a more complete age distribution is attached Age Started Smok..ing: MEN WOMEN % % 17 & Under 54 33 18-20 30 34 21-24 Ii 15 25 & Over 5 18 Total 100% 100% Median Age: 17 19 Source: Department of Health, Education, and Welfare. CX 48-B RH0002611

Mr. F. H. Christopher, Jr. Page 2 July 3, 1974 STARTING AGE (Cont'd) The incidence of smoking among people 16-24 years of age..is 40%, .9..acGording to the 1972 Yankelovich o~or". Within this age grgup, smoking incidence is _44% among men and 37% among women. %~6idence of smoking increases in older age segments~ peaking at :51% among people 35-49 years of age. 9~TIAL REASONS FOR SMOKING ~:~Ixshed sources are conslstent in identifying one or more of i~. following as the essential reasons for smoking cigarettes, " at~!~east initially: ~'~'~ -- Cpnformance -- S~, to gain confidence or security in stress s~tion (often social) -- E~joymen~, taste or other physiological benefits (after-an initial learning period) -- To show off ::~lili~£en more than one of these factors enter into a young person's #.~-de¢ision to smoke and the reasons for a given individual are i~i~dom clear cut and definitive. In addition, two less prevalent :~::.-re.a. sons are to rebel against authority (although a youth is :~%~t l~kely to smoke if his parents smoke), or to satisfy a ~bit which is developed from occasional smoking. ~~lowing are brief elaborations on each of the major reasons ::~~bly ~e most prevalent reason that a young person starts ~.~.~smoke is the influence of a close friend or "peers". One ~or study ~ong youths showed that ~e best predxctor of whether ~:~:~not a young person smokes is to determine if he has a clo e ~:~%~end who smokes. Peer group influence is very strong during ~{~ ~e~ ~ears. Men, particularly, report that smoking is s~bolic of lugged masculinity and that they took up smoking because they wanted to impress and be accepted by other young men who smoked. Often ~e motivation is to be less the target of ~.rou~ ..aggression. Smoking is often a way to gain entree to a group by affecting an appearance of being mature, sophisticated, sexy or manly. However, with respect to peer group influence, it ~s not clear whether smokers tend to fo~ a group or whether smoking tends to pe~eate a group after it is foxed on the basis of some other co~onality (e.g., a co, on feeling of insecurity or interest in rock music). CX 48 - C ~00026 ] 2

Mr. F. H. Christopher, Jr. Page 3 July 3, 1974 INITIAL REASONS FOR SMOKING (Cont'd) .~. Support : .~..~ng smokers generally agree that they differ from non-smokers i~~with respect to several personal characteristics. The most ~'~vasive of these is th6ught to be "nervousness", which is :~t~.~.ified by the need to do something with their hands. Smokers ~o view themselves to some extent as excessively verbal, ~roverted and easily bored. Many you6~ smokers r~port that /~y first bec~e regular smokers at a time when a major ~~tr:~:hsitioD ocG.ured in their life. such as ~ing away to college ~i~facing an educational or soqial crisiS. These smokers ~::::~::~quent~y ~hat--smoking at such times helps th~ to over- ~ ?~~e stress either by bolstering their self-image (and how they are perceived by o~ers), or physiologically, by relaxing or st~ulating them. ~9 o~ e n t : y yo~g smokers, independent of group or o~er pressures, ~~ply enjoy the taste and other p~si~i~ benefits of smoking, h~hg'tri~d smoking to see if they would enjoy it ~:~.:=.~her than for other reasons. The older a person is when he ~rts to smoke, apparently the more likely "enjo~ent" is ~-his re ing regularly. These smokers often associate ~~g ~th specific occasions such as meals and work breaks. :~And of course a period of time is often necessary for an ~:::~ividual to acquire a taste for cigarettes to the,point of ~ 1 en j o~en t. :~... "-'-.:~ ~:~ Show Of f : ~{.~.~:~.~.~s reason shows up less frequently in the available literature ~:~ is really hard to separate from confo~ance or support. ~/~?"~%en~ it is related to a need to pr~ ~ ~gher appearance ~{~n would othe~ise be possible, or in the case of a yo~g .~.~@!..~l, to appear sexually precocious. CX 48-D RI-/0002613

Mr. F. H. Christopher, Jr. Page 4 July 3, 1974 INITIAL BRAND SELECTION Younger smokers are likely to select either Marlboro or Kool ,:;,.a&~ their usual brand These two brands enjoy a 50% share of :~. us#rs among smokers 18-20 y~rs of age as contrast.to a 24% • ~:~: ......... . ....... - • .~re o-~et among all smo~~rs. The Company has not surveyed ~.~.~:.-~:::~:~'s~°kers under 18 years of age, but informal" and secondary ::~~NO~rces suggest even larger shares for Marlboro and Kool. :.i~i:~O.~lowing is a brief summary of shares among smokers 18-20 years ~" "~.a~e- " compared to shares amon~ all smokers". A more detailed' :.:':~.~ :::~:i:{:~.'::.x! - __ , -- !:~~:~~le (Table If) appears ~n the appendix. • Th~~" third column of the table below shows brand shares among ~:~....~ • . ~i~o.'~kers 35-49 years old, a segment typical of older smokers. ~6ng these older smokers, Winston and Salem are relatively strong brands as Marlboro and Kool drop off to shares of 6% and 5% respectively. Further perspective on brand shares ..... among various age groups is provided by the attached trend ::! -~h a r t s, • :~:~:~:~:~:~:!:: A 11 S mok e r s Smoke r s :.~:~.,~.~...,::~:~. Smoke rs 18 - 20 35 - 49 :.'. :.z.~ ::~-:- ,..:. ~.: :::::::::::::::::::::: .... ::~:" :i !"::';':':e~'~:8""ii :' % % % Shares Normal Flavor Filters 44 53 35 Winston 15 12 12 Marlboro 14 34 / 6 ~ Menthol Filters 26 35 26 Salem 9 9 i0 Kool I0 17 o 5" Other Brands Total i00 i00 i00 RJR Comparative Sales ("All Smokers"); National Family Opinion Panel (smokers 18-20 and 35-49), i~i~ng sm k~ initially are un_~_to.selec~t a non-filter brand or a l~_w., fl@~o[_brand. They tend to select between a menthol and non-menthol full-flavor cigarette in about the same proportion as smokers are less likely than older smokers to select a 100mm cigarette, Share of total 100mm cigarettes is 15% among smokers 18-20 as contrasted to 22% among all smokers, CX 48-E RH0002614

Mr. F. H. Christopher, Jr. Page 5 July 3, 1974 REASONS FOR SELECTING A FIRST "USUAL" BRAND We have focused earlier on the age people begin to smoke, their initial reasons for smoking and the brands they first select iii~b~:~ause that information helps us draw reasonable hypotheses ~:->-,.~ the absence of direct data regarding reasons for initial ~~'rand selection. ~i~.-,Br~,~adly speaking, we hypothesize that the causes of initial ~.~~~ihnd selection relate directly to the reasons a young person i~,~kes. The more closely a brand meets the psychological ~:::~:~pport" needs (advertising or otherwise communicated brand or u&.er ~mage; ans the physiological needs (product characteristics), {~ more likely it is that a given brand will be selected. ...... ~~"~ specific causes appear to be primarily: -- The influence of a ~r~i@nd~oK_pe~r group. This is particularly evident in the case of young women who quite often adopt the brand their husband or boyfriend smokes simply because it is more convenient. While friends and spouses are quite influential in a young smoker's choice of brand, it appears that parents have very little influence on brand selection in today's environment. It used to be that a youngster would smoke regularly his parent's brand because it was the mQst re~l~~ilable to him and h~came accustomed to it. Today we find a parent's influence much less prevalent as young people have greater mobility and often steer away from the "trappings" of the older generation. -- The user "imp" that has become associated with a particular brand. To some extent young smokers "wear" their cigarette and it becomes an important part of the "I" they wish to be, along with their clothing and~['~e way they style their hair. -- The product character~a~i~s_a_b~@Dd has or is perceived__to have. Often these product character- istics simply reduce a smoker's field of choice (a longer cigarette for example). CX 48-F RH0002615

Mr. F. H. Christopher, Jr. Page 6 July 3, 1974 REASONS FOR SELECTING A FIRST "USUAL" BRAND (Cont'd) It is true that smokers will say "a friend's influence" or "I liked that taste" (or both) when asked to recall why he selected his first regular brand rather than some other brand. ~.~.Bu~.. it must also be true that influential young smokers (perhaps re~Btively few) have made brand selections based on product • ~:~racterlstxcs or advertising and promotion communication. i[~.~.~.~..~i fact that two brands, Marlboro and Kool have such dominate i~~!res among youths suggests the above hypothesis and a look ~@~/how these leading brands are perceived offers clues as to {i:~t causes initial brand selection in today's environment. ~es III and IV attached, show smokers' impressions (product ~..an~~user images) of Winston, Marlboro, Salem, and Kool. These i~.. ~ia suggest that: :::::::::::::::::::::::::: -- Marlboro is often selected initially because (a judgment) its advertising has consistently communicated a manly, to__ug_b_h~confident user image and smoking characteristics consistent with this image. This image conforms closely with many voun~ ~_mokers need for "support" in stressful situations. -- Kool is often selected initially because (also a judgment) its smoking characteristics make it appropriate for youths who feel that smoking a brand that is widely perceived as strong will satisf~ the_ir ._need for "suppolt". There is also-e~idencefrom focus group research--£]~t Kool has product characteristics that make it more acceptable than other brands to peopl~ who use drugs, and to blacks. '~:~:~f a person is going to smoke clgarettes, he generally.starts i::iii~ing his teens, primari~ to con~_or~n__~w_i__t_h__.~. _close_frlend or ~::"~ii~__t~e__hi_mself gre~ter confidence in stress situation, i~o avail himself or the physical enjoyment smoking offers. ~%~:rently a young smoker is much more likely to select Marlboro ...... ~~.~.::~Kool than we would expect on the basis of these brands' i!i~:~:~ r a i i franchise. ~/i~he main causes of initial brand selection; i.e., the influence i~i~i~ii~friends, the user image a brand projects and differentiated product characteristics, are logically related to the reasons a young person begins to smoke. DWT/nk D. W. Tredennick L~- Marketing Research Department CX 48-G RH0002616