Evaluating tobacco retailer experience and compliance with a flavoured tobacco product restriction in Boston, Massachusetts: impact on product availability, advertisement and consumer demand

Abstract

BackgroundFlavoured tobacco products are widely available in youth-accessible retailers and are associated with increased youth initiation and use. The city of Boston, Massachusetts restricted the sale of flavoured tobacco products, including cigars, smokeless tobacco and e-cigarettes, to adult-only retailers. This paper describes the impact of the restriction on product availability, advertisement and consumer demand.MethodsBetween January and December 2016, data were collected in 488 retailers in Boston at baseline and 469 retailers at 8-month follow-up, measuring the type, brand and flavour of tobacco products being sold. Process measures detailing the educational enforcement process, and retailer experience were also captured. McNemar tests and t-tests were used to assess the impact of the restriction on product availability.ResultsAfter policy implementation, only 14.4% of youth-accessible retailers sold flavoured products compared with 100% of retailers at baseline (p<0.001). Flavoured tobacco product advertisements decreased from being present at 58.9% of retailers to 28.0% at follow-up (p<0.001). Postimplementation, retailers sold fewer total flavoured products, with remaining products often considered as concept flavours (eg, jazz, blue). At follow-up, 64.0% of retailers reported that customers only asked for flavoured products a few times a week or did not ask at all. Retailers reported that educational visits and the flavoured product guidance list aided with compliance.ConclusionTobacco retailers across Boston were largely in compliance with the regulation. Availability of flavoured tobacco products in youth-accessible retailers declined city-wide after policy implementation. Strong educational and enforcement infrastructure may greatly enhance retailer compliance.

Are California’s Local Flavored Tobacco Sales Restrictions Effective in Reducing the Retail Availability of Flavored Tobacco Products? A Multicomponent Evaluation

“…In the tobacco retailer opinion poll, while nearly all retail employees were aware of the local ordinance, only slightly more than half reported that it was easy or very easy to comply. As was found in Boston (Kephart et al 2019) and San Francisco (Vyas et al 2021), uncertainty about which tobacco products can be sold was cited in this study as a barrier to compliance. Notably, this lack of clarity may apply less to vaping products, which are widely understood to be nearly universally flavored, and more to cigarillos/ cigar wraps, which have many unflavored and ambiguous varieties.…”

“…A survey of retailers during and after implementation of Boston’s local flavor ordinance found that educational visits and a flavored tobacco product guidance list were the most helpful resources for aiding compliance. Indeed, one of the main concerns of retailers in both Boston and San Francisco was not knowing whether certain products were flavored, and therefore in violation of the local flavor ordinance ( Kephart et al, 2019 ; Vyas et al, 2021 ).…”

A Comprehensive Qualitative Review of Studies Evaluating the Impact of Local US Laws Restricting the Sale of Flavored and Menthol Tobacco Products

“… 21–28 Three studies also operationalized availability as the number or proportion of restricted flavored or menthol tobacco products observed in the store’s displayed inventory (hereafter, “product-level availability”). 21 , 24 , 25 Five studies used retail observational methods to evaluate policy effects on marketing/advertising of flavored or menthol tobacco products, typically operationalized as the presence of tobacco marketing materials or advertisements within or outside of stores. 21 , 22 , 24 , 30 , 32 …”

Local sales restrictions significantly reduce the availability of menthol tobacco: findings from four Minnesota cities

“…Previous evaluations of non-menthol flavoured tobacco sales restrictions have found that these types of policies can be effective in reducing the availability of flavoured tobacco products. [15][16][17] However, because menthol has often been excluded from sales restrictions, there is a paucity of published literature about the impact of menthol tobacco sales restrictions on the retail environment. We are only aware of one published study to date that examined the impact of a menthol tobacco restriction on the retail environment.…”