Tobacco Promotions at Point-of-sale

Abstract

Objectives:The retail environment provides important opportunities for tobacco industry communication with current, former, and potential smokers. This study documented the extent of tobacco promotions at the retail point-of-sale and examined associations between the extent of tobacco promotions and relevant city and store characteristics. Methods:In each of 20 Ontario cities, 24 establishments were randomly selected from lists of convenience stores, gas stations, and grocery stores. Trained observers captured the range, type and intensity of tobacco promotions from April to July 2005. The extent of tobacco promotions was described using weighted descriptive statistics. Weighted t-tests and ANOVAs, and hierarchical linear modeling, were used to examine the relationships between tobacco promotions and city and store characteristics.Results: Extensive tobacco promotions were found in Ontario stores one year prior to the implementation of a partial ban on retail displays, particularly in chain convenience stores, gas station convenience stores and independent convenience stores. The multivariate hierarchical linear model confirmed differences in the extent of tobacco promotions by store type (p<0.01); in addition, tobacco promotions were found to be higher among stores close to a school (p=0.01) and in neighbourhoods with lower median household incomes (p<0.01). Independent convenience stores with a greater number of employees had more tobacco promotions; however, the relationship was reversed for grocery stores.Discussion: Tobacco promotions were extensive at the point-of-sale. Public health messages about the harms of tobacco use may be compromised by the pervasiveness of these promotions.

Unplanned cigarette purchases and tobacco point of sale advertising: a potential barrier to smoking cessation

“…In addition to small sample sizes, possible differences in unplanned purchase rates between our study and Carter et al could stem from differences in disposable income or level of nicotine addiction among purchasers. The percentage of unplanned cigarette purchases could also be lower because studies have shown that grocery stores have a lower concentration of tobacco POS advertising than other store types, such as convenience stores 13. In addition, not all checkout lanes at the grocery stores sold cigarettes, therefore not all individuals visiting the store would be exposed to tobacco displays and advertising.…”

“…We did not measure the quantity of advertising in the stores in this study. Studies from California, Ontario, Massachusetts, Guatemala, Argentina and Ireland indicate that the quantity of tobacco POS advertising and displays vary greatly by store type, proximity to schools and neighbourhood socioeconomic status 13 19 21. In addition, sampling primarily occurred during weekdays, and only limited survey collection was performed on weekends, which could result in an oversampling of unemployed individuals.…”

Tobacco point-of-sale displays in England: a snapshot survey of current practices

“…In Australia retailers receive more money for displaying tobacco than they do for other types of product 12. North American studies have also found significantly more PoS tobacco promotions near schools and in low-income and minority neighbourhoods than in better educated, higher-income, predominantly white neighbourhoods 13 14…”

Tobacco point-of-sale advertising in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina and compliance with the new tobacco advertising restrictions

“…The borders were drawn arbitrarily to form a ∼1.19 km 2 area that includes the University of Buenos Aires Hospital. The checklist used in this study assesses characteristics of tobacco PoS advertising and is identical to that used in previous studies 6 7. The percentage of missing data for each variable ranged from 0% to 16%, and an available case-analysis was used to analyse the results.…”