The use of brand extensions or variants has facilitated tobacco companies such as PMI to ably position and create the perception that some cigarettes are healthier versions of others. By 2011, PMI had developed over 220 new or redesigned brand variants for Marlboro, with Marlboro Fresh variants available in more than 90 markets. 2 Additional Marlboro offerings from the Fresh pillar include Ice Blast and W-Burst (also launched in Japan), Blue Ice (launched in Brazil), as well as Kretek Mint and Black Freeze (launched in Mexico, where the company possesses over 80% of the menthol segment). The brand’s boldness is represented by a strong black stallion in motion, the main element of the communication campaign’ ( figure 1). 1 According to PMI’s 2008 annual report, Marlboro Black Menthol was launched ‘to deliver a cigarette with a bold, long-lasting, high-cooling sensation in a striking black pack. For example, as part of the Marlboro Fresh product line, Marlboro Black Menthol was launched in Japan during 2008, and soon thereafter offered in several additional markets, including Indonesia and the Philippines. The new brand architecture includes Marlboro brand variants being offered in black-coloured cigarette packages. The data presented in this paper reveal that smokers of the leading light cigarette brand sold in the United States today, Marlboro Lights, are for the most part unaware of filter vents in the cigarettes they smoke and are misinformed about the health risk of using low-tar and filtered cigarettes.In 2008, Philip Morris International (PMI) launched a new global brand architecture for Marlboro, which involved establishing three Marlboro brand families known as Red (centred on flavour), Gold (based on contemporary style with contrasting diameters and taste profiles) and Fresh (being mentholated and dubbed as ‘refreshing taste sensations’). The responses of Marlboro Lights smokers to questions about the hazards of low-tar cigarettes were similar to those expressed by smokers of other cigarette brands. For example, only 11% of Marlboro Lights smokers knew that the tar delivery of a light cigarette was about the same as that of a full-flavored cigarette. Many Marlboro Lights smokers believed incorrectly that lower tar, light, and ultra-light cigarettes were less harmful compared with higher tar, full-flavored cigarettes. Only 32% of Marlboro Lights smokers reported that the filters on their cigarettes were ventilated. Marlboro Lights was the most popular brand, smoked by 19% of survey respondents.
Respondents were asked about the brand and type of cigarettes smoked, beliefs about the health benefits associated with low-tar and filtered cigarettes, and awareness of ventilation holes in the filters of their cigarettes. The data for this study came from a nationally representative random-digit-dialed telephone survey of 1,046 adult current cigarette smokers (aged 18 years or older) conducted between May and September 2001. The present study examined the extent to which Marlboro Lights smokers perceive lower health risks associated with using a low-tar cigarette and the extent to which they are aware of filter vents in their cigarettes.
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