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Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of this presentation attendees will be able to:
- Compare how the April 2009 federal tobacco tax increase differentially affected search queries for cigarettes and other tobacco products.
Groups likely to benefit from this lecture include those working on federal tobacco tax issues and/or advocating for equity in the federal tax rates of tobacco products. Individuals interested in other tobacco products (e.g., smokeless, roll-your-own, and snus) will benefit.
Key Points:
On April 1, 2009, the federal excise tax increased from 62 cents to $1.01 per pack of cigarettes. However, other tobacco products did not receive comparable increases in taxes, and as a result, taxes on cigars, pipe tobacco, and smokeless tobacco are significantly lower than the federal tax on cigarettes. We used Google Insights for Search to measure Internet search volume of other tobacco products for a year prior to and after the tax. We also scanned news and blog coverage of other tobacco products during the same period. Following the tax increase, search queries for other tobacco products, particularly roll-your-own tobacco, significantly increased. The increase in these queries was accompanied by an increase in news media coverage of these products.
Educational Experience:
The audience will learn how Google Insights can be used to conduct search query surveillance to monitor trends in consumer interest for other tobacco products. The presentation will include a live demo of how the Google Insights for Search tool works.
Benefits:
The key data and messages from the presentation could be used to help groups advocate for equity in the tax rates of federal tobacco products. Audience members will also gain an introduction to Google Insights for Search and learn how they might utilize it in their work.