A 62-cent federal cigarette tax hike may push smokers to quit the increasingly expensive habit - creating a marketing opportunity for nicotine replacement therapy makers.

The price increase effective April 1 is "a great marketing opportunity for anyone involved in the smoking cessation industry," because price is one of the most effective incentives for smokers to quit, said Danny McGoldrick, VP of research for Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

McGoldrick estimates the price increase, which brings the total federal tax per pack to $1.01, will encourage about 1 million smokers to successfully quit. Even more will try and fail this attempt to quit, he added.

Indeed, 72 percent of smokers surveyed nationally in March by Richard Day Research say the price increase will increase their intention to quit.

GlaxoSmithKline, the maker of Nicorette and other NRTs, sponsored the survey as part of a media campaign it launched March 31. The campaign promotes the financial and health benefits of quitting smoking and touts the efficacy of NRT products to help smokers quit.

GSK notes that smokers are twice as likely to quit successfully if they use NRT products compared to quitting unassisted. It adds that only 3 to 5 percent of smokers successfully quit without NRTs.

The challenge for drug makers is that smokers who want to quit to save money may be reluctant to pay for NRT products for the same reason.

The GSK-sponsored survey found 48 percent of smokers who currently are attempting to quit, or who said the tax would make them more likely to quit, said they would prefer to quit smoking - either altogether or gradually - without assistance.

While quitting "cold turkey is cheap, you get what you pay for," said Saul Shiffman, a professor of psychology and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Pittsburgh. He also advises GSK.

He explained that quitting without assistance has the lowest success rate, and recommends NRT makers "do the math" for consumers and highlight that NRT-users will pay $3 to $5 a day for three months compared to spending an average of $5.50 a day for cigarettes for their "now shorter life."

Recognizing consumers' price sensitivity, GSK will give away 500 20-count starter packs of Nicorette White Ice Mint gum through the Web site ¹ www.nicorette.com, a spokeswoman said. It also offers a $10 NRT coupon in a free-standing insert distributed in publications nationally.

GSK, which estimates pack-a-day smokers will save $2,000 a year on average if they quit, also offers free smoking-cessation tools and resources on the site.

Mitch Zeller, a GSK consultant and VP for policy and strategic communications at Pinney Associates, advocates other NRT makers follow GSK's lead.

"It is incumbent on pharmaceutical companies in the business of trying to help smokers become tobacco-free to call attention to the benefits of quitting and the degree to which you are more likely to" successfully quit with an NRT compared to unassisted quit attempts, he said.

Shiffman said NRT makers also should communicate the products' safety because many people who say they want to quit without assistance misconceive the products as unsafe.

This perception may stem from an FDA warning in 2008 that Pfizer's prescription smoking cessation drug Chantix may cause neuropsychiatric symptoms (² 'The Tan Sheet' Feb. 4, 2008, In Brief).

Team With Tobacco Prevention Programs

NRT makers also can reach smokers who want to quit because of the excise tax by teaming with state tobacco prevention programs.

Each state has a quit line service that smokers can call for free counseling, and some quit lines offer free or discounted NRT products, said McGoldrick.

He noted Michigan's Tobacco Quit Line received 65,000 calls in less than a week after its March 11 announcement for a free 8-week supply of GSK's NRT gum or lozenges or Novartis' Habitrol patch to callers 18 and older.

"We believe that the press release, combined with extensive same-day media coverage of federal tobacco taxes increasing from 39 cents to $1.01 per pack of cigarettes, served as the catalyst that finally pushed so many of our residents to the tipping point," the Michigan Department of Community Health Tobacco Section says.

The surge of calls depleted the state's quit line funds for the year, and the health department seeks additional funds to keep the line open.

"Most state programs have a very limited budget for quit line services and NRT so discounts from the manufacturers are helpful," said Karen Brown, a tobacco use treatment specialist with the Michigan Department of Community Health Tobacco Section.

Legislative And Regulatory Opportunities

Other legislative changes, such as public smoking bans, smoke-free laws and state tobacco taxes, and regulatory changes also create marketing opportunities for NRT makers, McGoldrick added.

A bill moving in Congress could increase tobacco product prices and increase NRT sales opportunities.

On April 2, the House passed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, H.R. 1256, authorizing FDA to regulate tobacco.

H.R. 1256 recommends FDA fast track research and approval of smoking cessation products, including NRTs, and consider expanding indications for NRT for craving relief and relapse prevention. The bill introduced by Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry Waxman, D-Calif., directs FDA to evaluate how to best regulate, promote and encourage the development of innovative treatments, including nicotine- and non-nicotine-based products.

While the White House supports the bill, it faces an uphill battle in the Senate, which did not take up the legislation in 2008 after the House passed it. At least one senator threatened a filibuster and others say FDA has enough responsibilities already.

Opportunities Beyond Legislation

Finally, less predictable marketing opportunities come from in tragedies that NRT makers can turn into a "teachable moment or marketable moment," Shiffman said.

When TV news anchor Peter Jennings died of lung cancer in 2005, "there was a huge surge in quit line calls" and smokers trying to quit, Shiffman said.

- Elizabeth Crawford (e.crawford@elsevier.com)

Cigarette Tax Hike Sparks NRT Marketing Opportunities

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