Research Reveals Consumer Responses to Changes in Tobacco Products
The government’s plan to tighten regulations on tobacco products has once again drawn attention as discussions continue on the implementing rules of Government Regulation No 28/2024 on Health. The provisions under deliberation include those concerning the use of additives and flavourings, as well as limits on tar and nicotine levels in tobacco products.
The regulation forms part of the government’s public health policy, including efforts to control smoking prevalence in Indonesia.
Amid the regulatory deliberation process, the findings of a Kompas Research study on consumer behaviour and preferences provide a picture of how consumers’ choices might change if the characteristics of the products they usually use were altered.
According to the study, 38% of respondents said they would choose another flavour variant of the same brand if the flavour they normally consumed changed or was no longer available. A further 34% said they would look for a different brand offering a similar flavour.
The finding indicates that changes in the availability of a product variant can influence consumer choice, whether by switching to another variant or seeking out alternative products.
The same study found that flavour is one of the considerations consumers take into account when choosing cigarette products. As many as 70% of respondents considered the presence of additives an important factor in determining their product choice.
From a market perspective, changes in variant availability are also deemed potentially influential on consumer behaviour. As many as 90% of respondents said there was a possibility consumers would switch to illicit cigarettes if flavoured variants were banned.
However, that figure reflects respondents’ perceptions of the likelihood of consumers switching, and does not indicate that consumers have actually or will actually move to illegal products. Qualitative findings from the study also showed that consumers and traders interviewed still tend to avoid illegal products.
The study also revealed a range of views among respondents on the effectiveness of restricting additives. Some 21% of respondents judged the policy effective in reducing cigarette consumption, while the majority remained unsure of its effectiveness.
At the same time, 87% of respondents considered the implementation of additive restrictions to be quite difficult or very difficult to carry out.
These findings illustrate the range of possible consumer responses should changes occur in the tobacco products available. When a variant is no longer available, some consumers said they would choose alternatives, whilst others would continue using whatever products remained accessible.
In the deliberation of tobacco product regulations, information on consumer behaviour and preferences can serve as one input for assessing potential market responses to changes in product availability.
Beyond consumer behaviour, the implementation of the regulation also relates to public health objectives, implementation readiness, oversight mechanisms, and the dynamics of the tobacco product market.