Financial Hardship During the COVID-19 Pandemic and Increased Receipt of Commercial Tobacco Discount Coupons Among US Adults Who Use Commercial Tobacco

Introduction: Many individuals experienced financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic; yet commercial tobacco (CT) sales increased in the USA. We examined how experiencing financial hardships relates to increased CT discount coupon reception during the pandemic.

Methods: A nationally representative sample of 1700 US adults who used CT during the 12 months prior to the survey were surveyed online during January to February 2021. Participants reported if they had received more discount coupons for various CT products during (compared with before) the pandemic. They also reported whether they experienced six different types of financial hardships since the pandemic, and the total number of hardships experienced was counted. Weighted multivariable logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between financial hardships and increased coupon reception, adjusting for demographics and CT product use.

Results: During the first 10-11 months of the pandemic, 21.3% of US adults who used CT during the 12 months prior to the survey reported receiving more CT discount coupons. Experiencing financial hardship during the pandemic was associated with higher odds of receiving more coupons for all types of CT products: every additional count of financial hardship was associated with higher odds of increased reception of discount coupons for all CT products (adjusted odds ratios ranging from 1.13 to 1.23 across products).

Conclusions: Over one-fifth of US adults who used CT received more discount coupons during the pandemic. Those facing financial hardships had higher discount coupon reception, suggesting potential targeted marketing to financially vulnerable individuals by the tobacco industry.