News and Research Roundup – Counter Tobacco

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

Estimating the Impact of Raising Prices and Eliminating Discounts on Cigarette Smoking Prevalence in the United States, Public Health Reports
- Eliminating price discounts like these could reduce smoking rates
  
  Researchers estimated changes in smoking prevalence based on simulations of three different price scenarios and found:
  - A $0.94 per-pack cigarette price increase (via a federal tax) could result 0.5 % fewer smokers ages 12-17 (teen smokers), 2.5% fewer smokers 18–25 years (young adults smokers), and 0.8% fewer smokers age 26 and older.
  - A $10 per-pack retail price, allowing discounts, could result in 2.4% fewer teen smokers, 11.6% fewer young adult smokers, and 3.6% smokers aged 26 years and older.
  - A $10 per-pack average retail price, eliminating discounts had the most impact and could result in 2.5% fewer teen cigarette smokers; 12.2% fewer young adult smokers, and 3.8% fewer smokers ages 26 and older, which amount to a total of 12.5 million fewer smokersoverall.
- States that currently have the lowest excise taxes and highest smoking prevalence would experience the greatest decreases in smoking rates. However, the simulation model used does not account for non-cigarette tobacco products. Learn more about non-tax price policies.
Setting the agenda for a healthy retail environment: content analysis of US newspaper coverage of tobacco control policies affecting the point of sale, 2007-2014, Tobacco Control
- Analysis of POS tobacco control news coverage in high-circulation, national- and state-level newspapers revealed that articles were more likely to have a pro-tobacco control slant when they had a health frame, more sources who were pro-tobacco control, and presentation of more statistical evidence. Articles were more likely to have an anti-tobacco control slant when they had a political/rights or regulation frame (the most common), had more sources who were anti-tobacco control, government, tobacco industry, tobacco retailers, or tobacco users.
Research letter: US adult smokers’ perceptions of Australia’s cigarette warning labels: variance by warning content and consistency across sociodemographic subsegments, Tobacco Control
- US smokers in a non-representative sample reacted similarly to Australian smokers when exposed to cigarette packs with a subset of Australia’s current graphic health warnings. The images that were perceived as most effective were pictorial warnings of gangrene, harm to babies, and throat cancer.
- Learn more about POS Health Warnings.
Impact of Total Vending Machine Restrictions on U .S. Young Adult Smoking, Nicotine & Tobacco Research
- Young adults who live in places where vending machine sales of tobacco were banned, including adult-only stores and nightlife spaces, were 55.8% less likely to have smoked within the past 30 days, and young adults were also less likely to smoke at all. However, vending machine bans did not affect heavy smokers’ behavior.
Impact of removing point-of-sale tobacco displays: data from a New Zealand youth survey, Tobacco Control
- “Powerwall” displays like this one are banned in New Zealand, and it’s working to decrease smoking rates
  
  In July 2012, New Zealand implemented a point of sale tobacco display ban along with other tobacco control measures. By 2014, smoking experimentation among youth ages 14-15 dropped to 17%, down from 24% in 2011, current smoking dropped from 9% to 7%, and smoking initiation dropped from 13% to 11%. Perceived peer prevalence of smoking (social norms) decreased from 44% in 2012 to 41% in 2014. There were also fewer attempted purchases of cigarettes, and the relationship between frequency of visits to stores that sell tobacco and smoking experimentation weakened.
- News story: Removal of point-of-sale tobacco displays working, Medical Xpress
- Learn more about tobacco product display restrictions.
Common state mechanisms regulating tribal tobacco taxation and sales, the USA, 2015, Tobacco Control
Understanding how perceptions of tobacco constituents and the FDA relate to effective and credible tobacco risk messaging: A national phone survey of U.S. adults, 2014-2015, BMC Public Health
- News Story: What’s in Your Cigarettes? There Are Over 7,000 Chemicals That You Don’t Know About, Inquistr
Trends and Factors Related to Smokeless Tobacco Use in the United States, Nicotine & Tobacco Research
Tobacco Product Use Among Adults – United States, 2013-2014, CDC MMWR
- 21.3% of U.S. adults used a tobacco product every day or some days
- 25.5% of U.S. adults used a tobacco product every day, some days, or rarely
- Young adults had the highest use of hookah and e-cigarettes
- Tobacco product use was higher among individuals who were males, under age 45, living in the Midwest or South, had lower levels of education, had a lower income, or were LGBT.
- News Story: 1 in 5 Americans Uses a Tobacco Product, US News& World Report

E-Cigarettes

E-cigarettes, Cigarettes, and the Prevalence of Adolescent Tobacco Use, Pediatrics

E-Cigarettes sold alongside other tobacco products in the retail setting
- While cigarette use among 11^th and 12^th graders has been on the decline, it remained stable in 2014. However, prevalence of e-cigarette use is on the rise, and the combined use of cigarettes and e-cigarettes is greater than historical usage, indicating that adolescents who would otherwise not have initiated smoking are using e-cigarettes.
- News Story: More NonSmoking Teens Inhaling Flavored Nicotine Through Vaping, New York Times
E-Cigarettes and Future Cigarette Use, Pediatrics
- News Story: E-Cigarettes a Gateway to Smoking for Teens: Study, US News & World Report
Potential Solutions to Electronic Cigarette Use Among Adolescents, Pediatrics
Electronic nicotine delivery system landscape in licensed tobacco retailers: results of a county-level survey in Oklahoma, BMJ Open
- In a sample of 57 retailers from Cleveland County, Oklahoma, 89.5% sold Electonic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) as well as traditional tobacco products. Of the stores that sold ENDS, 90.2% carried cigalikes, 37.3% sold refills for cigalike devices, and 15.7% carried tank systems. While franchises had a higher rate of selling ENDS (95.5%), independent retailers were more likely to sell tank systems and e-juice refills. Most sold fewer than five brands, although independent retailers were more likely to carry more than 5 brands. ENDS were placed behind the check-out counter in 88.2% of stores, and about half of stores placed them next to traditional cigarettes. Outdoor signage for ENDS was seen at 43.1% of retailers. Ten percent of franchises placed ads at eye level for children (<3 ½ ft), but were also more likely to store ENDS in a locked or closed cabinet.