Black Generation Y students attitudes towards the demarketing of tobacco and alcohol consumption

Abstract

This article reports on a study undertaken to determine Black Generation Y students' attitudes towards the demarketing of tobacco and consequent attitudes towards the demarketing of alcohol consumption in South Africa. As governments around the world, including South Africa, seek to tackle growing health care costs, so unhealthy consumption behaviours are increasingly coming under the spotlight. Tobacco smoking and, more recently excessive alcohol consumption, are two of such consumption behaviours that have received particular attention in recent years, with different demarketing strategies being implemented in an effort to dissuade the consumption thereof. While the effectiveness of these demarketing strategies may be measured directly by looking at changes in demand levels, little is known concerning consumer attitudes towards these strategies, even though an essential prerequisite for achieving their beneficial effects may depend on consumers having a positive attitude towards these strategies. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 400 Black Generation Y students registered at two South African higher education institutions situated in the Gauteng province. The captured data were analysed using z-tests, Pearson's Product-Moment Correlation and regression analysis. The findings indicate that Black Generation Y students have a statistically significant positive attitude towards both the demarketing of tobacco and alcohol consumption, and their attitudes towards the demarketing of tobacco serve as an important predictor to their attitudes towards the more recently proposed demarketing of alcohol consumption in South Africa.