August 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

Evaluating the impact and equity of a tobacco-free pharmacy law on retailer density in New York City neighourhoods, Tobacco Control
- A comparison of tobacco retailer density in New York City neighborhoods before and after implementation of a policy prohibiting the sale of tobacco in pharmacies found that retailer density decreased by 6.8% across the city. However, the effects were not equal across neighborhoods. While retailer density decreased by over 15% in some neighborhoods, the greatest reductions in retailer density were found in neighborhoods with higher median household income and a higher proportion of non-Hispanic white residents, whereas lower reductions were found in neighborhoods with lower levels of education and a higher proportion of Hispanic residents.
- Learn more about tobacco-free pharmacy laws.
Long-term impact of plain packaging of cigarettes with larger graphic health warnings: findings from cross-sectional surveys of Australian adolescents between 2011 and 2017, Tobacco Control
- Australia introduced plain packaging for cigarette packs with larger graphic health warnings in December 2012. Cross sectional surveys of youth ages 12-17 in 2011, 2013, and 2017 found that over time, students viewed cigarette packs more negatively and perceived fewer differences between brands in their smoking ease, addictiveness, harmfulness, and pack attractiveness.
- Learn more about POS Health Warnings.
Child awareness of and access to cigarettes: impacts of the point-of-sale display ban in England, Tobacco Control
- In England, a tobacco product display ban was implemented in small stores in 2012, followed by a display ban in all stores in 2015. The display bans reduced children’s exposure to cigarettes in shops. While the proportion of child smokers who reported buying their cigarettes in shops decreased from 57% in 2010 to 39.8% in 2016, children who still reported buying cigarettes in stores did not report changes in perceived difficulty in buying cigarettes or being refused sale. Researchers suggest this points to the need for additional advertising restrictions, enforcement of existing laws, and licensing of tobacco retailers.
- Learn more about restricting product placement.
Comparison of e-cigarette marketing and availability in tobacco retail outlets among diverse low-income communities in California, Tobacco Control
- Store observations across different low-income communities in Southern California conducted between January 2016 – January 2017 found that compared with Non-Hispanic White communities, all other communities surveyed (including American-Indian tribal lands and low-income African-American, Hispanic/Latino, and Korean-American neighborhoods) were less likely to sell flavored e-cigarette products, have self-service displays, and have e-cigarettes near youth-friendly items. However, Korean-American and Hispanic/Latino neighborhoods were less likely to have exterior advertising.
- Learn more about e-cigarettes at the point of sale.