Firing Up : Study Finds Cigarette Ads Increase Right After Jan. 1

DENVER —  Cigarette makers increase advertising in January and February when millions of smokers are trying to stick to New Year’s resolutions and kick the habit, according to a university study released Monday.

Overall, cigarette manufacturers are spending less on advertising, but they are becoming more strategic about how they target their dollars, said Mike Basil, assistant professor of mass communications at the University of Denver and the study’s main investigator.

“In the old days, advertisers threw everything at people. They’re getting smarter. Cigarette advertising is very slick and it’s all we can do to identify their techniques,” Basil said.

The study examined more than 1,000 cigarette advertisements that appeared in 10 popular magazines between 1965 and 1989.

Basil said an average of 2.8 ads appeared per magazine in January and February, compared to an average of 1.6 ads in the other 10 months of the year.

Withdrawal symptoms tend to peak about one month after quitting, studies show.

The Denver study did not find any differences in terms of content in the ads, Basil said. A follow-up study to be released next year shows the same pattern, he added.

Magazines studied were Ebony, Ladies Home Journal, Rolling Stone, Time, TV Guide, Mademoiselle, Jet, Essence, Popular Science and Cycle World. Taken together, the publications reach a wide cross-section of the American population, the report says.

The Tobacco Institute, a Washington industry group, had no comment.

But a spokeswoman for Philip Morris Cos., the world’s largest cigarette manufacturer, called the study flawed. She said Philip Morris advertises in up to 100 magazines and that if there is any increase in ads it occurs in spring or summer to support other promotions.