Smoker preference for "elastic cigarettes" in the Canadian cigarette market

Elastic cigarettes are characterized by yields of constituents that increase proportionally faster than smoke volume as cigarettes are smoked more intensely. Elasticity may function to overcome physical limitations in increasing puff volume during nicotine-seeking behaviour. The purpose of this study was to determine if there are elastic cigarettes in the Canadian cigarette market and to determine smoker preference for elastic cigarettes. Elasticity was calculated for 115 brands in the Canadian filtered cigarette market for puff volumes of 44 and 56 ml. Puff volumes, nicotine and tar deliveries were obtained from earlier published documents. Sales data were used as a proxy for smoker preference. Ordinary least squares regression was used to determine the association of sales and elasticity in the Canadian cigarette market. The cigarette brands ranged from a mean elasticity value of 1.21 to 0.67. Of the 115 Canadian cigarette brands tested, 23 brands had a mean elasticity value significantly over 1.00, making them elastic. After adjusting for brand, the average elastic cigarette sold an average of 361 million cigarettes while an inelastic cigarette sold 89.5 million cigarettes (p<0.0001). The difference in sales between elastic and inelastic cigarettes was independent of tar yield and filter type. Elasticity was not associated with tar yield (p=0.2734). There are elastic cigarettes in the Canadian cigarette market and the results suggest a possible smoker preference for elastic cigarettes. Utilizing elasticity may be valuable in the development of future harm reduction strategies.