Choosing a Cigarette Brand: Determining the Value of Countermarketing Information to Smokers Using Field Auctions

Abstract

Information about cigarettes can help smokers come to an informed decision about what cigarettes to purchase. Countermarketing information can help smokers make informed decisions, but little is known about the value of this information to smokers. In this article, we use data from experimental auctions to estimate the value of countermarketing information that counters industry claims about reduced-risk cigarettes. We find that this information has significant value to smokers who have been exposed to marketing information from tobacco companies touting reduced-risk cigarettes, but we find no evidence it provides value to smokers not exposed to this marketing information.experimental auctions, field experiments, Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis, C93, M31,