News and Research Round Up – Counter Tobacco

Welcome to CounterTobacco.org’s “News and Research Roundup!” Each month we post a summary of the latest research, reports, and news stories on counteracting tobacco product sales and marketing at the point of sale (POS). Keeping up with what’s happening in the POS movement all across the country can help you choose policies and strategies that work best for your community. New research can help provide support for your work and evidence for the importance of the “War in the Store.” Have a story you don’t want us to miss? E-mail it to us!

New Research

Restricting Tobacco Advertising and Promotions

Hiding the tobacco power wall reduces cigarette smoking risk in adolescents: using an experimental convenience store to assess tobacco regulatory options at retail point-of-sale, Tobacco Control
- This study, conducted in a replica convenience store, demonstrated that adolescents exposed to a more prominent and visible cigarette “powerwall” in a retail setting subsequently reported higher susceptibility to future cigarette smoking compared to adolescents exposed to a tobacco display hidden by an opaque wall. This adds to the evidence that point of sale tobacco displays contribute to youth smoking initiation.
- Learn more about display bans as a way to restrict tobacco placement in retail settings.
Impact of Exposure to Electronic Cigarette Advertising on Susceptibility and Trial of Electronic Cigarettes and Cigarettes in US Young Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial, Nicotine & Tobacco Research
- This study found that young adults who had never tried an e-cigarette before but who were exposed to e-cigarette advertisements had greater curiosity about and were twice as likely to have tried e-cigarettes six months later than young adults who were not exposed to e-cigarette advertisements.
- Learn more about e-cigarettes at the point of sale.
Adolescents’ and adults’ perceptions of ‘natural’, ‘organic’ and ‘additive-free’ cigarettes, and the required disclaimers,Tobacco Control
- This focus group study found that while some participants were skeptical ‘natural’, ‘organic’ and ‘additive’ free claims on a American Spirit advertisement, many viewed the cigarettes as less harmful than other cigarettes. Participants also noted that they ignored, did not notice, or did not fully believe the disclaimer on the ad stating that the cigarettes are not safer. This indicates that a disclaimer may not be enough, and ban may be necessary to prevent a false perception of health among consumers instead.
Is Every Smoker Interested in Price Promotion? An Evaluation of Price-Related Discounts by Cigarette Brands, Journal of Public Health Management and Practice
- Using data from the National Adult Tobacco Survey, this study found that 22.1% of users of premium cigarette brands used discounts compared to 13.3% of generic brand users and 10.8% of other brand users. These results indicate that smokers of lower socioeconomic status who were more likely to use generic brands also might be less likely to affected by the policies banning discounts, indicating a need for a higher minimum price in addition to restricting use of coupons and promotion for cigarettes in order to address racial and income disparities in smoking.
- Learn more about raising tobacco prices through non-tax approaches.

Tobacco Retailer Density:

Tobacco retail outlet density and risk of youth smoking in New Zealand, Tobacco Control
- This study found that secondary school student in New Zealand were more likely to be smokers when their school was located in an area with a high density of tobacco retail outlets. When tobacco retail outlet density was high, current smokers were also more likely to attempt purchasing tobacco, and non-smokers were more likely to be susceptible to smoking. This indicates a need to reduce density of tobacco retailers around schools to reduce youth smoking rates and youth smoking initiation.
- Read more about licensing and zoning as strategies to limit tobacco retail outlet density.