By comparison, although 76% of the female smokers in central Indiana had heard of snus, only 1.4% tried it (1.8% of those who had heard of it). selleck chem Imatinib Table 1. Characteristics of sample and proportion who heard of and tried snus Table 1 also shows that although exposure to tobacco advertising in convenience stores was not significantly associated with awareness of snus, receiving promotional items at bars and clubs and through the mail was. With regard to trial of snus, in addition to the exposure factors associated with awareness, seeing ads in convenience stores was significantly associated with trial of snus. Perception of smokeless tobacco as less harmful than cigarettes was not associated with having heard of snus but was significantly related to trying it.

The year of data collection was not associated with either awareness or trial of snus. Multivariate analyses Table 2 shows the odds ratios (ORs) resulting from the logistic regression models looking at whether respondents had heard of snus and if they had tried it. The standard demographic variables, including gender, were not significantly associated with awareness. Residency in central Indiana (OR 2.82), being a smoker (OR 4.50), and having received tobacco promotions in the mail (OR 2.06) were all significantly related to having heard of Taboka or Camel Snus. Other indicators of exposure to tobacco marketing (i.e., seeing ads in convenience stores and promotions in bars) were not significantly associated with awareness, perhaps due to correlation with smoking status and receipt of mail promotions.

The perception that smokeless tobacco is less harmful than cigarettes was unrelated to awareness of the new products. Table 2. ORs for hearing of and trying Taboka or Camel Snus (n = 3,318) The multivariate analysis predicting trial of snus showed that controlling for all other factors, men were much more likely to try snus than were women (OR 13.83), as were residents of central Indiana compared with those outside the test market area (OR 2.96). Receiving tobacco promotions in the mail increased the likelihood of trying snus sixfold (OR 6.07). Last, those who reported believing that smokeless tobacco is less harmful than cigarettes were significantly more likely to try snus than those who judged smokeless tobacco as being equally or more harmful than cigarettes (OR 3.86).

Discussion The goal of this article was to begin to move the discussion about snus from a theoretical one, having to do with the potential public health benefits or harms of snus, to a discussion based on actual population response to the new products. This analysis is the first we know of to attempt to quantify the response of consumers to the marketing Batimastat of the new spitless, smokeless tobacco products in the United States. The data are limited in several ways. First, the survey questions do not permit an estimate of the proportion of the ��triers�� who went on to use snus regularly.