February 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

Local Retail Tobacco Environment Regulation: Early Adoption in the United States, Tobacco Regulatory Science
- Interviews with 80 county tobacco control practitioners across 24 states showed that localities that were more likely to have adopted a retail or “point of sale” tobacco policy by late 2015 also had lower smoking rates or higher excise taxes. While half of the counties surveyed had adopted a retail tobacco control policy, including counties with diverse income and racial demographics, a range of program capacities, preemption status, and political landscape, “early adopter” counties were also less likely to have voted Republican in the 2012 election, less likely to have a large African-American population, and more likely to have limited capacity. However, those that had conducted retail tobacco store assessments were 6 times as likely to adopt retail policies as counties that had not. Counties that were preempted from establishing local retailer licensing laws or local smokefree laws were among the least likely to adopt any retail policy.
- News story: Communities that most need tobacco sales restrictions aren’t getting them, study finds, Washington University in St. Louis
- Learn more about store assessments here and about preemption here.
Exposures to the tobacco retail environment among adolescent boys in urban and rural environments, American Journal of Drug and Alcohol Abuse
- An analysis of tobacco retailer exposure among adolescent boys in rural and urban regions of Ohio found that boys who were non-Hispanic black or other racial/ethnic minority, had ever used tobacco, and lived in rural areas reported visiting stores that sell tobacco more times per week than other boys. However, non-Hispanic black or other racial/ethnic minority, those living in an urban areas, and those living in poorer neighborhoods were more likely to pass by a tobacco retailer on their route between their home and school. Based on these findings, the researchers suggest that limiting tobacco marketing in retail environments might have a stronger impact on rural youth, whereas limiting the number or location of tobacco retailers may have a stronger impact on urban youth.
- Learn more about point-of-sale advertising restrictions and restricting the number and location of retailers.
A tale of two cities: exploring the retail impacts of flavoured tobacco restrictions in the twin cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, Tobacco Control
- This study assessing compliance with the flavor bans enacted in Minneapolis and Saint Paul, MN found most retailers were in compliance with the policies that restricted the sale of flavored tobacco to adult-only stores. In Minneapolis, the availability of flavored tobacco at convenience and grocery stores was reduced from 85.4% of stores to 39%. In Saint Paul, availability of flavored tobacco products at these stores decreased from 97.3% to 8.1%. Whereas in the nearby city of Brooklyn Park, which had not implemented a restriction on the sale of flavored tobacco products, flavored tobacco products were available at 100% of these store types..
- Learn more about flavored tobacco products
Vital Signs: Tobacco Product Use Among Middle and High School Students – United States, 2011-2018, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Between 2017-2018, current use of e-cigarettes increased from 19.6% to 27.1% among high school students and from 5.6% to 7.2% among middle school students. An increase in current use of any tobacco product between 2017-2018 was driven by e-cigarette use, reversing a decline in any tobacco product use seen in previous years.
Global evidence on the effect of point-of-sale display bans on smoking prevalence, Tobacco Control
- Point-of-sale display bans requiring tobacco products to be kept out of sight reduced overall daily smoking by 7%, male smoking by 6%, and female smoking by 9% across 77 countries.
- Learn more about displays bans.
An African-specific haplotype in MRGPRX4 is associated with menthol cigarette smoking, PLOS Genetics
- News story: Researchers find genetic vulnerability to menthol cigarettes use, National Institutes of Health

E-Cigarettes

A Randomized Trial of E-Cigarettes versus Nicotine-Replacement Therapy, New England Journal of Medicine
- This UK study found that 18% participants who tried using second-generation refillable e-cigarettes for one year in an attempt to quit smoking were able to remain quit one year later, compared to 9.9% of participants who used nicotine-replacement therapy (NRT) to quit. However, of those who were able to stay quit for 1 year, 80% of those who quit using e-cigarettes continued to use e-cigarettes, whereas only 9% of those who successfully quit using NRT continued to use NRT. Both groups also received behavioral support for cessation.
- News story: Study: Vaping helps smokers quit. Sort of., Vox
Longitudinal e-cigarette and cigarette use among US youth in the PATH Study (2013-2015), Journal of the National Cancer Institute
- An analysis of data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study found that youth who had ever used cigarettes or e-cigarettes were four times more likely to try the other product one year later than youth who had never used either. Researchers also found that how frequently youth use e-cigarettes impacts their future cigarette use.
Association of Electronic Cigarette Use with Subsequent Initiation of Tobacco Cigarettes in US Youths, JAMA Network Open
- Youth ages 12-15 who reported previously using e-cigarettes were more than 4 times as likely to have ever-used cigarettes three years later, and were 3 times as likely to report current cigarette use three years later compared to youth who had never used tobacco. Reciprocally, youth who previously used other tobacco products were more than 3 times as likely to try cigarettes or become current cigarette users. The relationship between prior e-cigarette use and future cigarette use initiation was strongest among youth who were low-risk.
- News story: Teen e-cigarette use inked to eventual smoking, Reuters
Transcriptomic response of primary human airway epithelial cells to flavoring chemicals in electronic cigarettes, Scientific Reports
- News story: Two common e-cigarette flavors found to ‘destroy lung function,’ NY
Learn more about e-cigarettes at the point of sale.