The Peculiar Science of Cigarette Consumption in Nepal
Despite a persisting stigma against tobacco consumption, people just cannot seem to stop smoking. Cancer, heart & lung diseases, stroke, diabetes, COPD; the list of life-threatening risks attributed to smoking goes on and on but smokers indulge in it knowing the risks. As per the data from CDC, despite 68% of adult smokers wanting to quit smoking, only 10% of them manage to do so. More people smoke their first cigarette on any given day than people who quit successfully. Such a thought-provoking consumption behavior is a result of the addictive nature of tobacco which has only intensified due to striking marketing practices orchestrated by the most clever branding & marketing brains.
The smoking pattern of people in Nepal is like elsewhere in the world. Many smokers begin their cycle in their teenage with the curiosity to inhale a puff and before they know it, addiction takes over. However, state-of-the-art marketing practices have also attributed to the prevalence of cigarette smokers in the country. Despite being a questionable practice, the marketing industry of Nepal saw great adverts made by cigarette brands at a time when tobacco was unrestricted. The likes of Surya, Khukuri and Shikhar penetrated the consumers’ minds with excellent storytelling and theatric visual plots.
Consumer Perception
When it comes to cigarettes, Nepalese have developed a unique perception that is not prevalent elsewhere. Surya, Shikhar, Khukuri, Pilot, Captain – all of these brands have one thing in common. These cigarettes that sell the most have brown-colored filters. Over the years, Nepali tobacco brands have positioned cigarettes with brown-colored filters as stronger ones; at least the consumer perception happens to be such. On the contrary, cigarettes with white-colored filters are referred to as light cigarettes. Surya played a big role in this phenomenon as it began marketing its white-colored cigarettes as Surya Lights.
Masculinity vs Femininity
Cigarette consumption has since long been associated largely with men in the marketing periphery. Across borders as well, cigarettes with brown filters targeted men with ads that showed macho men smoking thick and brown-filtered cigarettes at a time it remained unrestricted. On the other hand, women were targeted with ads that showed feminine women smoking thin and white-filtered cigarettes. In Nepal as well, ads in the past have always shown men smoking cigarettes whereas women were never juxtaposed alongside cigarettes. Thus, varied positioning of cigarettes based on gender has also impacted consumer perception of white and brown filters.
Summing Up
Many smokers in Kathmandu must have had an encounter with the new cigarette called Mevius. The Japanese cigarette brand brought to Nepal by CG has failed to garner much notice. Personal selling using unseasoned salespeople can be seen evidently in the city but the brand has failed to build a customer base. On the other hand, there are brands like Captain which managed to do so without much hassle by simply selling its cigarettes at a very competitive price. Thus, consumer perception of cigarettes in Nepal has certainly had an impact on the sluggishness of Mevius.
