New Federal Trade Commission (FTC) reports of tobacco industry spending in 2009 and 2010 make it clear that the POS is a critical avenue for tobacco companies. The Cigarette Report shows expenditures of $7.2 billion in 2009 and over $6.9 billion in 2010 in advertising and promotional expenditures at the POS. These numbers are 84.6% and 86.6% of all advertising and promotional expenditures made in total!

Price discounts intended to reduce the cost of tobacco products to consumers, an important promotional strategy at the POS, is by far the largest spending category among all advertising and promotional categories included.

Check out Counter Tobacco’s adapted table from this report, pulling out what you need to know about industry tactics at the point-of-sale. Also see the FTC’s full reports on cigarettes and smokeless tobacco for further details.