Applied Marketing Research

In this second proposal for outcome two, I will produce a qualitative research proposal using information gathered from the non-profit organisation ” Action on Smoking and Health” (ASH) which is a campaigning public health charity working for a comprehensive societal response to tobacco aimed at achieving a sharp reduction and eventual elimination of the health problems caused by tobacco, to evaluate how effective have the advertisement campaigns been over the last twenty years.

The information will reveal the data sources, sampling plan and data collection plan of the ASH. Data sources Secondary data will be gathered from the ASH internal records, reports and fact sheets, as well as from the internet to get an idea of the actual number of smokers in the UK compared to the number of smokers in the UK in the 1970’s. People will be surveyed to evaluate their thoughts about their smoking habits. Also group interviews will take place between ex smokers and second hand smokers

This will reveal if the actions taken by ASH to fight smoking have been successful during these years, and also to see if the aims of the organisation are being met. The aims os ASH are as follows: * Banning all forms of tobacco advertising, sponsorship and promotion; * Raising tobacco prices through the tax system; * Tackling smuggling and the role played by tobacco companies in promoting it; * A comprehensive NHS response to nicotine addiction and support for cessation; * Major public communications programmes aimed at encouraging all smokers to quit and non-smokers not to start; Increasing provision of smoke-free places – at work, in public places, and through persuasion and awareness-raising, in the home – with a view to eliminating all involuntary smoke exposure; * Consumer protection measures such as improved warnings, comprehensive risk communication; plain packaging, bans on misleading claims, control over retailers;

* Regulation of tobacco as a dangerous drug with controls over the contents of cigarettes and smoke, and any health claims made in relation to tobacco and nicotine; Harm reduction strategies for those who cannot or will not stop using nicotine Sampling plan The sampling plan hopes to target and receive information from smokers, ex-smokers and second hand smokers, these people will be randomly selected using a age range between 16 and 60+ years old, and both male and female. The sampling plan should be more focus on adults, however preventing youth iniciation seems like the ideal approach but it has been difficult to identify successful interventions that are targeted directly at the appropriate age group.

The reason for that is that teenagers are using smoking as means of graduating to adult society – and will be most influenced by what happens in adult society. Teenagers are likely to be receptive to changes in adult society and in the behaviour of those around them – it is likely therefore that campaigns targeting adults will be effective in reaching teenagers. There is a strong link between cigarette smoking and socio-economic group. In 2003, 35% of men and 31% of women in routine and manual occupations smoked compared to 20% of men and 17% of women in managerial and professional occupations.

There has been a slower decline in smoking among manual groups, so that smoking has become increasingly concentrated in this population. As in previous GHS surveys, the 2003 data revealed an association between socio-economic group and the age at which people started to smoke. Of those in the managerial and professional households, 29% had started smoking before they were 16, compared with 44% of those in routine and manual households.

As the graphic above shows there are big differences between the differents socio-economics groups in their smoking habits, showing that the lowest income households are the ones in which more people smoke, and this will be where we should put more effort to reduce that number of smokers.

Data collection plan

Data is collected through surveys and group interviews as well as online through the AHS website and other internet sites. These methods will provide new first hand insights into the ASH, and statistics related to tabacco comsuption as also the effectiveness of the anti-tabacco campaigns.

Group interviews that involve a number of ex smokers who discuss various topics that the AHS wants to know about. The group would consist of 5-10 individuals who don’t necessarily know each other. The group session would last a few hours but no so long that the interviewees get fed up or bored. A trained interviewer would lead the group through the various topics but also let the group discover or go into topics that the interviewer hadn’t thought of. The questions will start broadly and then become more specific. If the interviewees go too far off track then the trained interviewer can helpfully redirect them (hence the name focus group). The meeting would be held in a pleasant and informal setting and would be recorded or notes taken and then studied later. Group interviews can be flexible, collect lots of data and good well trained interviewers can explain uncertain issues to interviewees.

The ASH website uses advancing technology to offer all kind of information about smoking and health for ,the public. The website can be used to get straight answers from the public concerning the smoking problem, how to fight it, health related problems and illness and much more information about it.

Conclusions

After analysing all findinds gathered through this research we come to the conclusion that much and well is being done by the ASH to meet all of their aims againts the tabacco.

As the graphics below show there have been a significant decrease of the number of smokers in the last twenty years

About 12 million adults in the UK smoke cigarettes – 28% of men and 24% of women. In 1974, 51% of men and 41% of women smoked cigarettes – nearly half the adult population of the UK. Now just over one-quarter smoke, but the decline in recent years has been heavily concentrated in older age groups: i.e., almost as many young people are taking up smoking but more established smokers are quitting.

Smoking is highest among those aged 20-24: 38% of men and 34% women in this age group smoke. Among older age groups prevalence gradually declines with the lowest smoking rate among people aged 60 and over: 15% smoke in this age group. This reflects the fact that many former smokers will have stopped in middle age and around one quarter of smokers die before reaching retirement age.

More than 80% of smokers take up the habit as teenagers.

In the United Kingdom about 450 children start smoking every day.

About one fifth of Britain’s 15 year-olds – 18% of boys and 26% of girls – are regular smokers – despite the fact that it is illegal to sell cigarettes to children aged under16.

All this shows that the ASH has been doing a great job through these years but it also shows that a lot is still to be done to tackle this mayor problem as every year, around 114,000 smokers in the UK die as a result of their habit.