April 2019 News and Research Roundup

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

Tapping Into Multiple Data “Springs” to Strengthen Policy Streams: A Guide to the Types of Data Needed to Formulate Local Retail Tobacco Control Policy, Preventing Chronic Disease
- To determine which point-of-sale tobacco control policies to pursue and when, local tobacco control practitioners can examine the following data “springs” to determine an appropriate strategy for their community: 1) epidemiologic and surveillance data, 2) macro retail environment data, 3) micro retail environment data, 4) the current policy context, 5) local legal feasibility of policy options, 6) the potential for public health impact, and 7) political will.
- Learn more about point-of-sale policies.
Characteristics of storefront tobacco advertisements and differences by product type: A content analysis of retailers in New York City, USA, Preventive Medicine
- An analysis of the exterior tobacco advertisements on a representative sample of tobacco retailers in New York City found that:
  storefront ad for Newport menthol
  - 38% of retailers had exterior advertising for tobacco, and advertising was most common at smaller grocers or bodegas
  - 61% of both cigarette and smokeless ads were for menthol flavored products
  - 40% of the ads were for cigarettes, 10% of which were not compliant with federal warning label regulations
  - 23.4% of ads were for Newport cigarettes specifically.
  - 27.9% were for e-cigarettes, nearly half of which were on the front door, and only 5% of which contained a standard warning label
  - 26.9% were for cigars, nearly half of which were on the front door
  - 5.2% were for smokeless tobacco
- Learn more about restricting point-of-sale advertising.
Rural-Urban Differences in the Decline of Adolescent Cigarette Smoking, American Journal of Public Health
- While rates of smoking have declined over time in both rural and urban youth populations, rates have not declined as rapidly among rural youth. In 2014-2016, rural youth were 50% more likely to smoke than urban youth.
Tobacco Use Among Rural and Urban Middle and High School Students: National Youth Tobacco Survey, 2011-2016, Journal of Rural Health
- From 2011-2016, rural youth were more likely to use cigarettes or smokeless tobacco and urban youth were more likely to use hookah. Rates of hookah and e-cigarette use have increased in both rural and urban youth populations.
Menthol Smoking Patterns and Smoking Perceptions Among Youth: Findings From the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, American Journal of Preventive Medicine
- Data from the 2013-2014 wave of the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study show that nearly half (43%) of youth who have ever smoked a cigarette started with a menthol cigarette. In addition, 21% of youth reported current menthol cigarette smoking, of whom 42% listed a menthol cigarette as their preferred brand. Youth who started with a menthol cigarette or prefer menthol cigarettes were more likely to be black, current smokers, and have started smoking at an older age. Youth who currently smoke or prefer menthol also were more likely to believe that menthols are easier to smoke.
- Learn more about menthol.
A Comparison of E-Cigarette Use Patterns and Smoking Cessation Behavior among Vapers by Primary Place of Purchase, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- This study compared e-cigarette users’ behaviors based on their primary place of purchase: vape shops, internet, retail shops, or smoke shops. Vape shops were the most popular place of purchase, preferred by 37.6% of users. Vape shop customers were the most likely to be daily users (59.1%) and former smokers (40.2%), followed by internet customers at 42.9% and 35.1%, respectively. Vape shop and internet customers were also most likely to have made an attempt to quit smoking cigarettes in the past 12 months, but retail store customers were most likely to have used an FDA-approved cessation aid. The large majority of vape shop customers (92.8%) used open-system models.
- Learn more about e-cigarettes at the point of sale.