Impact of American cigarette advertising on imported cigarette consumption in Osaka, Japan

Objective -To determine the predictors of imported cigarette consumption and the market share held by imported cigarettes in Osaka, Japan, for the period 1970-1990. Methods Regression analyses including variables such as television cigarette commercials, cigarette prices, income, and cigarette consumption in the pre vious year. Results In the first regression analysis, in which the dependent variable was imported cigarette consumption, the re gression coefficients for gross rating point and income for American television cigarette commercials were 0.006 and 0.026, respectively (p < 0.01). However, the prices of imported and domestic cigarettes were not significant predictors. In the second regression analysis, in which the dependent variable was market share of imported cigarettes, the regres sion coefficient for the television com mercial ratio for imported to domestic cigarettes was 0.018 (p < 0.01). The price ratio for domestic to imported cigarettes was not a significant predictor. Conclusion Television commercials for American cigarettes have been effective in inducing brand switching from do mestic to imported cigarettes in Osaka in the period 1970-1990. (Tobacco Control 1995; 4: 239-244)