February 2021 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

Little cigars and cigarillos

Exposure to cigar Point-of-Sale marketing and use of cigars and cigarettes among young adults, Addictive Behaviors
- College students in Texas who had greater exposure to advertisements for little cigars and cigarillos (LCCs) in retail stores were more likely to currently use LCCs and more likely to currently use cigarettes. Students had greater exposure to LCC advertisements were also more likely to report current cigarette use 6 months later compared to students who had less exposure to LCC ads. On average, students were exposed to 43 LCC advertisements per week. Learn more about restricting tobacco advertising.
Innovative promotional strategies and diversification of flavoured mass merchandise cigar products: a case study of Swedish Match, Tobacco Control
- While the 2016 deeming rule theoretically prohibited the introduction of new tobacco products to the market without authorization, the cigarillo marketplace has since diversified with new brands, flavors, styles, and packaging sizes. The authors use the example of Swedish Match’s cigarillos brands White Owl, Night Owl, and Garcia y Vega Game brands as examples. Learn more about non-cigarette tobacco products and point-of-sale policies.

Menthol and Other Flavored Tobacco Products

Flavoured tobacco product restrictions in Massachusetts associated with reductions in adolescent cigarette and e-cigarette use, Tobacco Control
- Massachusetts counties with greater implementation of flavored tobacco product restrictions (limiting the sale of flavored tobacco products to adult-only retail stores) saw a greater decrease in adolescent cigarette use, particularly among 14-18 year olds, between 2011-2017 than counties without these policies. In addition, in counties with these flavored tobacco product sales restrictions, adolescents were also less likely to use e-cigarettes. Learn more about restricting product availability and flavored tobacco products.
The African American Tobacco Control Leadership Council: Advocating for a menthol cigarette ban in San Francisco, California, Tobacco Control
- Based on AATCLC’s work advocating for a comprehensive flavored tobacco sales ban including menthol cigarettes in San Francisco, having dedicated advocacy team, community support, a policy sponsor, and clear and repeated messaging that is responsive to community concerns are key factors in enacting this type of policy. Learn more about menthol.
“Because There’s Just Something About That Menthol”: Exploring African American Smokers’ Perspectives on Menthol Smoking and Local Menthol Sales Restrictions, Nicotine & Tobacco Research
- Interviews with people who smoke and are African American in Minneapolis and St. Paul between June – September 2017 revealed a need to raise awareness of the public health benefits of local menthol sales restrictions to generate additional support and a need to provide cessation support.

E-Cigarettes

Electronic cigarette refill liquids: Nicotine content, presence of child-resistant packaging, and in-shop compounding, Journal of Pediatric Nursing
- Researchers found several issues with both free-base and nicotine salt e-liquids sold a in North Dakota in 2019. Nicotine content labels were inaccurate, one-third of the e-liquids sampled did not have child-resistant packaging, e-liquids made in the stores often contained more nicotine than noted on the labels and store staff did not always wear protective gear when mixing the e-liquid.
Use of E-cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products and Progression to Daily Cigarette Smoking, Pediatrics
- According to data from the US Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study, youth who tried multiple products before age 18 were had a 15% greater risk of progressing to daily cigarette use than youth who tried only one tobacco product. Youth who tried e-cigarettes before age 18 were 3 times more likely to later use cigarettes daily than those who did not.
Associated of device type, flavours and vaping behavior with tobacco product transitions among adult electronic cigarette users in the USA, Tobacco Control
- Using data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health Study (2014-2018), researchers found that people who used e-cigarettes or dual-used both e-cigarettes and cigarettes were more likely to abstain from cigarette smoking two years later if they used non-tobacco flavors, used refillable tank or modifiable devices, and used e-cigarettes daily. However, they were also more likely to continue using e-cigarettes (rather than quitting both).
Vape shop and consumer activity during COVID-19 non-essential business closures in the USA, Tobacco Control
- Between March – June 2020 in six metropolitan areas (Atlanta, Boston, Minneapolis, Oklahoma, San Diego, and Seattle), over half of vape shops were open as usual despite the COVID-19 pandemic shelter-in-place orders, 11.5% permanently closed, 3.8% temporarily closed, and 31.4% offered pick-up/delivery services. Among survey participants who use e-cigarettes, 23% stocked up on vape products during the pandemic and 23% tried to reduce their use while 15.8% tried to quit.
Learn more about e-cigarettes at the point of sale.

Heated tobacco products

Harm perceptions and beliefs about potential Modified Risk Tobacco Products, International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
- For e-cigarettes, snus, and heated tobacco products, when people believe they taste good and can be used as to help quit smoking, they have greater intentions to try these respective products which have the potential to be classified as Modified Risk Tobacco Products (MTRP) by the FDA.
Early adoption of heated tobacco products resembles that of e-cigarettes, Tobacco Control
- A national online survey of US adults conducted between November 2019 – February 2020 found that 8.1% of participants had heard of heated tobacco products, of whom 6.8% had experimented with it. Of those who had experimented, 18.2% reported current use of heated tobacco products. These rates are similar to rates found in a prior survey for e-cigarette awareness, experimentation, and current use in 2012.
Learn more about heated tobacco products at the point of sale.

New Reports

Stopping Menthol, Saving Lives: Ending Big Tobacco’s Predatory Marketing to Black Communities, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Association of Black Cardiologists, African-American Tobacco Control Leadership Council, Black Women’s Health Imperative, Center for Black Health and Equity, The Links Incorporated, NAACP, National Black Nurses Association, National Medical Association, National Caucus and Center on Black Aging, Save a Girl Save a World