The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #63332

Simona Kwon, MPH¹, Hee-Jung Roh¹, Seongho Kim, MSW², and Nadia Islam¹. (1) AANCART, Columbia University, 722 W. 168th St., Dept. of Epidemiology, 7th Floor, Room 732, New York City, NY 10032, (2) Public Health Program, The Korean Community Services of Metro New York, Inc, 149 W. 24th Street., 6th Floor, New York, NY 10011

Research findings have documented that tobacco advertising is more pervasive in Asian American (AA) neighborhoods than in other neighborhoods in the U.S. Previous research has been performed in AA communities in California, no data exist for NYC. This study documents the amount of point-of-purchase (POP) tobacco advertisements in Asian American communities in NYC and explores the relationship between neighborhood characteristics and the level of POP tobacco ads found. 161 community tobacco retailers in predominately AA neighborhoods were surveyed by members of Tobacco Not Tolerated, a Korean teen tobacco education program. Seventy-eight percent of the surveyed stores in NYC had some exterior tobacco advertising and/or promotional items clearly visible from the street; 87% of the stores had some interior tobacco advertisement. Of the interior ads, 21% were placed near candy displays, and 23% were located at 3 feet or below (eye-level with a child). The most heavily advertised brand of cigarette was Marlboro. 40% of the poorest surveyed neighborhoods had 1 or more Marlboro ads compared to 23% of the richest neighborhoods (P<.01). 43% of the wealthier neighborhoods displayed cigarette products near candy compared to 54% or poorer areas (p<.001). Other neighborhood effects such as number of foreign-born, English proficiency, and education attainment of residents will be explored. More exterior and interior tobacco ads and less tobacco control ads were found in predominately AA neighborhoods in NYC than in national POP tobacco surveys, and virtually all tobacco retailers surveyed displayed some form of tobacco POP advertising.

Learning Objectives:

• describe the amount of POP tobacco advertisement found in predominately AA neighborhoods of NYC;
• recognize the impact of neighborhood socioeconomic factors on the amount of POP tobacco advertisement found in a community

Keywords: Asian Americans, Tobacco Control

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.