Four million people will attempt to quit smoking on January 1 and many will turn to replacement therapy
According to Quit, the charity founded to help smokers give up their habit, more and more people have turned to nicotine replacement products because of their greater availability on prescription and in OTC.
This year it is predicted that some four million smokers will try to kick the habit on New Year's day. In retailers such as Tesco, one third of nicotine replacement therapy sales occur between January and March, and in January alone would-be quitters spent an additional £7.2m [Information Resources] on NRT, before taking a second bite at the cherry on No Smoking Day which, next year, is on March 12. Enticing another one million smokers into the fray, last year's No Smoking Day brought in an additional £6.5m in NRT sales [Information Resources]. The good news, cynics might say, is that only around four in every 100 will succeed.
Suppliers, of course, advertise heavily at these times. Nicotinell will be on TV over the peak months of January and February, in a £2m campaign, focusing on the wicked rather than evil taste of the new coated gum. The aim, says Nick Evans, marketing director at manufacturer Novartis Consumer Health, is to lift brand share from its current 17% MAT level to 20% plus.
In the self-selection market, NRT gums are the most popular format (41.1%), but are increasingly being chased by patches and lozenges which account for 40% and 6.6% of sales respectively. Part of the reason for gum's vulnerability is its unpleasant taste and Nicotinell research reveals that 50% of gum users only stick with it for three weeks or less because of the taste.
Novartis is expecting the UK performance of the coated gum to surpass that seen in Sweden where the launch in 2001 helped increase brand sales by 33% and the size of the total Swedish gum market by 10% in the same year.
The crunchy' gum, launched last month is the result of a new corporate policy of "solid proposition new product development", says Evans. "Something you can feel, touch and see, and which is not just all spin."
NPD on the brand will continue, he says, with "meaningful product enhancement next year. We have a lot to learn from the fmcg market and we will be looking to bring these skills to the party," he says.
NiQuitin manufacturer GSK, the number two player in OTC nicotine replacement products, believes this year's grocery sales uplift could be even bigger than last year, thanks to what it believes is increased category presence in-store.
On the back of the annual government-funded stop smoking' advertising campaign, GSK will run a £3.2m campaign, featuring NiQuitin patches and lozenges on TV, and gum advertising on radio.
The healthcare giant is negotiating with some big retailers for what OTC category manager Greg Bertolotti describes as "in-your-face" brand promotions. NPD-wise, the company says it will concentrate on gum and flavour enhancement, with product coming to market after No Smoking Day.
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According to Quit, the charity founded to help smokers give up their habit, more and more people have turned to nicotine replacement products because of their greater availability on prescription and in OTC.
This year it is predicted that some four million smokers will try to kick the habit on New Year's day. In retailers such as Tesco, one third of nicotine replacement therapy sales occur between January and March, and in January alone would-be quitters spent an additional £7.2m [Information Resources] on NRT, before taking a second bite at the cherry on No Smoking Day which, next year, is on March 12. Enticing another one million smokers into the fray, last year's No Smoking Day brought in an additional £6.5m in NRT sales [Information Resources]. The good news, cynics might say, is that only around four in every 100 will succeed.
Suppliers, of course, advertise heavily at these times. Nicotinell will be on TV over the peak months of January and February, in a £2m campaign, focusing on the wicked rather than evil taste of the new coated gum. The aim, says Nick Evans, marketing director at manufacturer Novartis Consumer Health, is to lift brand share from its current 17% MAT level to 20% plus.
In the self-selection market, NRT gums are the most popular format (41.1%), but are increasingly being chased by patches and lozenges which account for 40% and 6.6% of sales respectively. Part of the reason for gum's vulnerability is its unpleasant taste and Nicotinell research reveals that 50% of gum users only stick with it for three weeks or less because of the taste.
Novartis is expecting the UK performance of the coated gum to surpass that seen in Sweden where the launch in 2001 helped increase brand sales by 33% and the size of the total Swedish gum market by 10% in the same year.
The crunchy' gum, launched last month is the result of a new corporate policy of "solid proposition new product development", says Evans. "Something you can feel, touch and see, and which is not just all spin."
NPD on the brand will continue, he says, with "meaningful product enhancement next year. We have a lot to learn from the fmcg market and we will be looking to bring these skills to the party," he says.
NiQuitin manufacturer GSK, the number two player in OTC nicotine replacement products, believes this year's grocery sales uplift could be even bigger than last year, thanks to what it believes is increased category presence in-store.
On the back of the annual government-funded stop smoking' advertising campaign, GSK will run a £3.2m campaign, featuring NiQuitin patches and lozenges on TV, and gum advertising on radio.
The healthcare giant is negotiating with some big retailers for what OTC category manager Greg Bertolotti describes as "in-your-face" brand promotions. NPD-wise, the company says it will concentrate on gum and flavour enhancement, with product coming to market after No Smoking Day.
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