Cigarette Brand Preferences among Adolescents. Monitoring the Future Occasional Paper No. 45.

This report discusses findings from the Monitoring the Future study in relation to adolescent cigarette preferences. Results show that in 1998, 19.1% of the eighth graders, 27.6% of the tenth graders, and 35.1% of the twelfth graders reported smoking within 30 days prior to the survey. By the time they finish high school, 65.2% of American young people say they usually smoke Marlboro. Newport and Camel accounted for most of the remainder. Those who have an established smoking habit are more likely to have a brand that they usually smoke. The proportion of adolescents who purchase their own cigarettes rises with age. There is no indication that the grade level at which a current smoker first began smoking cigarettes affects his or her current brand preferences. Marlboro appears to be at least as popular among girls as among boys. Marlboro is the brand of preference for Whites (61% - 70%) and Hispanics (57% - 65%) while Newport is the brand of preference for African-Americans (71% - 82%). Marlboro is the leading brand in all four U.S. regions. Contains Appendix A: Text of Questions and Appendix B: Confidence Intervals and Selected Significance Tests for Three Cigarette Brands. (Contains 3 figures and 20 tables.) (MKA)