The tobacco industry spends nearly $1 million every hour to market their deadly products – most of it at the point of sale. That amounted to $6.6 billion spent directly on marketing in the retail environment in 2019. The Surgeon General has concluded that exposure to this retail marketing encourages smoking and undermines quit attempts.  
And it’s happening in YOUR community. 

With safety in mind, this fall we decided to postpone our annual photo contest. But the tobacco industry hasn’t taken a break during the pandemic – they’ve just used this as one more opportunity to exploit to market their deadly products. We’re re-launching the contest today with a range of safe ways to participate.

From May 17th – June 14th, you can help document and expose the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics at the point of sale… AND win bragging rights and some sweet CounterTobacco.org swag in the process! These images are crucial for educating the public and furthering the success of state and local tobacco control efforts that seek to reduce tobacco industry influence in the retail environment. 

You don’t even have to go into a store to participate! This year we have a whole category dedicated to the tobacco advertisements that often blanket the exterior of tobacco retailers. We know many of you have some great photos you’ve taken during store assessments or other visits to stores in the past – you can enter those, too!

2021 Contest Categories

• Exterior Ads: You don’t have to go in stores to participate in this year’s photo contest! We want to see how youth and adults are exposed to toxic tobacco marketing in their communities without even going in a store. Are there storefronts in your community covered in ads?
• Emerging products: Oral nicotine pouches, lozenges, sticks – help us capture how these new products are being marketing and sold in stores!
• iQOS: For those of you in GA, SC, and NC, participating internationally, or traveling to an area where iQOS or other heated tobacco products have been introduced, snap a photo of how they’re being marketed and promoted at the point of sale.
• Menthol Madness: While the FDA has finally announced their intention to issue a product standard banning menthol in cigarettes, this policy could take years to implement. In the meantime, these deadly products that are easier to start, harder to quit are still on the market. Research shows they are more prevalently advertised and more steeply discounted in African-American and low-income communities (learn more here). Document this industry targeting with a photo and send it in
• Flavor Craze: Flavored tobacco products are seemingly everywhere! While the FDA has announced their intention to issue a product standard prohibiting flavors in cigars, as with the rule on menthol cigarettes, this could take years to implement. In the meantime, flavored products remain on the market, appealing to youth. From e-cigarettes to cigarillos to smokeless products, tobacco companies are creating more flavors constantly. Show us the wildest flavor or the greatest array of flavored tobacco products you’ve seen for sale. Keep a look out for the use of ambiguous flavors such as colors (e.g. “blue,” “green,” “black”) or other flavors such as “Jazz,” “Tropical Twist,” “Sweet,” and “Royale.”
• Greatest Youth Appeal: Spotted a tobacco product near candy or another child-friendly item? Discovered a tobacco advertisement near a carousel or a child-friendly mascot? Send the image our way! 
• Most Ironic: Did they just put that tobacco advertisement next to …? I think they did! Sometimes the placement of tobacco advertisements next to other items or advertisements can result in some serious irony! Grab snapshots of tobacco advertisements placed next to an unlikely companion advertisement.
• Cheap & Steep: Who can find the cheapest pack of cigarettes, cheapest single cigar, or the steepest discount? The tobacco industry uses price discounts to target price sensitive customers, including youth. From little cigars and cigarillos that cost less than a dollar to steep discounts on cigarettes and BOGO offers on smokeless products, the tobacco industry has many tactics they use to sell cheap tobacco. Show us what cheap tobacco products or price discounting strategies you see in your community! This includes any ads for mobile coupons that you see in the retail environment. 
• Stores near Schools (and other youth-oriented venues): Research has shown that there is an increased smoking prevalence among schools located in neighborhoods that have the highest tobacco retailer density compared schools located in neighborhoods without any tobacco retailers. Many localities have also restricted tobacco retailers from locating near schools, parks, libraries, or other youth-oriented venues as a common-sense way to reduce access and reduce retailer density. A tough photo to take but be creative with the challenge! Panorama anyone? Or try photographing tobacco advertisements next to signs that indicate that a school, park, or other youth-oriented venue is in the area.
• Vape Shops: What stores are selling e-cigarettes in your community? How are they marketing and promoting them? Help us document this aspect of the retail environment so advocates can stay on the cutting edge!
• Targeting: The tobacco industry’s targeted marketing tactics drive disparities in tobacco use and tobacco-related harm. Marketing for any product includes advertisements based on demographics, but for a product with significant negative health impacts, like tobacco, focusing on a particular audience creates health disparities that further impact communities that are already hindered by social inequity. Document their targeted marketing campaigns at the point of sale, from military-themed advertisements to products with Spanish words in the name, from the use of stereotypical Native American images and motifs in branding and advertising to messaging and images with rural themes, from menthol ads exploiting African American hallmarks to Pride-themed ads and branding.

More Information

Contest closes on June 14, 2021 at 11:59pm ET. Official contest rules and FAQ found here.

Both winning and non-winning images that meet eligibility requirements will be permanently housed in Counter Tobacco’s image gallery. The image gallery serves as a resource for tobacco control advocates and practitioners seeking to regulate tobacco marketing at the point of sale. These images help to both educate and influence decision makers to regulate tobacco POS marketing tactics which have been shown to encourage smoking initiation among youth, undermine quit attempts, and encourage the continued consumption of tobacco products.

Need more inspiration? See our winners from 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017,  2018, and 2019.

Last updated October 22, 2021