Presence of Counterfeit Marlboro Gold Packs in Licensed Retail Stores in New York City: Evidence from Test Purchases

Marin Kurti; Yi He; Diana Silver; Margaret Giorgio; Klaus Von Lampe; James MacInko; Hua Ye; Fidelis Tan; Victoria Mei

doi:10.1093/ntr/nty096

Presence of Counterfeit Marlboro Gold Packs in Licensed Retail Stores in New York City: Evidence from Test Purchases

Marin Kurti, Yi He, Diana Silver, Margaret Giorgio, Klaus Von Lampe, James MacInko, Hua Ye, Fidelis Tan, Victoria Mei

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Background: There are no independent studies measuring the availability of premium brand counterfeit cigarettes in New York City from licensed retailers. Methods: We forensically analyzed the cigarette packaging of Marlboro Gold (n = 1021) purchased from licensed tobacco retailers in New York City, using ultraviolet irradiation and light microscopy to determine whether they were counterfeit. Results: We find that while only 0.5% (n = 5) of our sample exhibits at least one characteristic synonymous with counterfeit packaging, none of our packs can be conclusively classified as counterfeit. Conclusions: We do not find any counterfeit Marlboro Gold packs purchased at full price from licensed cigarette retailers throughout New York City. Future research using test purchases should include other venues (eg, street and online) and specifically ask for discounts to ascertain the overall presence of counterfeit cigarettes. Implications: This is the first study to independently measure the availability of counterfeit cigarette packs purchased at full price from licensed retailers in New York City. We find that none of the Marlboro Gold packs purchased from licensed cigarette retailers are counterfeit.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1131-1134
Number of pages	4
Journal	Nicotine and Tobacco Research
Volume	21
Issue number	8
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1093/ntr/nty096
State	Published - May 21 2019

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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10.1093/ntr/nty096

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title = "Presence of Counterfeit Marlboro Gold Packs in Licensed Retail Stores in New York City: Evidence from Test Purchases",

abstract = "Background: There are no independent studies measuring the availability of premium brand counterfeit cigarettes in New York City from licensed retailers. Methods: We forensically analyzed the cigarette packaging of Marlboro Gold (n = 1021) purchased from licensed tobacco retailers in New York City, using ultraviolet irradiation and light microscopy to determine whether they were counterfeit. Results: We find that while only 0.5% (n = 5) of our sample exhibits at least one characteristic synonymous with counterfeit packaging, none of our packs can be conclusively classified as counterfeit. Conclusions: We do not find any counterfeit Marlboro Gold packs purchased at full price from licensed cigarette retailers throughout New York City. Future research using test purchases should include other venues (eg, street and online) and specifically ask for discounts to ascertain the overall presence of counterfeit cigarettes. Implications: This is the first study to independently measure the availability of counterfeit cigarette packs purchased at full price from licensed retailers in New York City. We find that none of the Marlboro Gold packs purchased from licensed cigarette retailers are counterfeit.",

author = "Marin Kurti and Yi He and Diana Silver and Margaret Giorgio and {Von Lampe}, Klaus and James MacInko and Hua Ye and Fidelis Tan and Victoria Mei",

note = "Funding Information: This study was funded by the Institute for Human Development and Social Change at New York University and the Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York (69474-00 47). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2018 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved.",

year = "2019",

month = may,

day = "21",

doi = "10.1093/ntr/nty096",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "21",

pages = "1131--1134",

journal = "Nicotine and Tobacco Research",

issn = "1462-2203",

publisher = "Oxford University Press",

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T1 - Presence of Counterfeit Marlboro Gold Packs in Licensed Retail Stores in New York City

T2 - Evidence from Test Purchases

AU - Kurti, Marin

AU - He, Yi

AU - Silver, Diana

AU - Giorgio, Margaret

AU - Von Lampe, Klaus

AU - MacInko, James

AU - Ye, Hua

AU - Tan, Fidelis

AU - Mei, Victoria

N1 - Funding Information: This study was funded by the Institute for Human Development and Social Change at New York University and the Professional Staff Congress-City University of New York (69474-00 47). Publisher Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco. All rights reserved.

PY - 2019/5/21

Y1 - 2019/5/21

N2 - Background: There are no independent studies measuring the availability of premium brand counterfeit cigarettes in New York City from licensed retailers. Methods: We forensically analyzed the cigarette packaging of Marlboro Gold (n = 1021) purchased from licensed tobacco retailers in New York City, using ultraviolet irradiation and light microscopy to determine whether they were counterfeit. Results: We find that while only 0.5% (n = 5) of our sample exhibits at least one characteristic synonymous with counterfeit packaging, none of our packs can be conclusively classified as counterfeit. Conclusions: We do not find any counterfeit Marlboro Gold packs purchased at full price from licensed cigarette retailers throughout New York City. Future research using test purchases should include other venues (eg, street and online) and specifically ask for discounts to ascertain the overall presence of counterfeit cigarettes. Implications: This is the first study to independently measure the availability of counterfeit cigarette packs purchased at full price from licensed retailers in New York City. We find that none of the Marlboro Gold packs purchased from licensed cigarette retailers are counterfeit.

AB - Background: There are no independent studies measuring the availability of premium brand counterfeit cigarettes in New York City from licensed retailers. Methods: We forensically analyzed the cigarette packaging of Marlboro Gold (n = 1021) purchased from licensed tobacco retailers in New York City, using ultraviolet irradiation and light microscopy to determine whether they were counterfeit. Results: We find that while only 0.5% (n = 5) of our sample exhibits at least one characteristic synonymous with counterfeit packaging, none of our packs can be conclusively classified as counterfeit. Conclusions: We do not find any counterfeit Marlboro Gold packs purchased at full price from licensed cigarette retailers throughout New York City. Future research using test purchases should include other venues (eg, street and online) and specifically ask for discounts to ascertain the overall presence of counterfeit cigarettes. Implications: This is the first study to independently measure the availability of counterfeit cigarette packs purchased at full price from licensed retailers in New York City. We find that none of the Marlboro Gold packs purchased from licensed cigarette retailers are counterfeit.

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Presence of Counterfeit Marlboro Gold Packs in Licensed Retail Stores in New York City: Evidence from Test Purchases

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