Back to Annual Meeting

Back to Annual Meeting

APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Mohammad Azad, MPH, CHES and Marshall Cheney, MA. Oklahoma City-County Health Department, 921 NE 23rd St, Oklahoma City, OK 73105, 405 419-4285, mohammad_azad@occhd.org

A survey (n=80) of randomly-selected convenience stores and other retail outlets in Oklahoma County was conducted to measure the extent of indoor and outdoor point-of-purchase tobacco advertising. Gas stations had the highest average number of tobacco advertisements, followed closely by privately-owned convenience stores. Stores in the lowest-income neighborhood had two times the average number of outdoor tobacco advertisements and three times more advertisements at or below three feet (indicating targeting of young children) than stores in the highest-income neighborhood. Seventy percent of low-income neighborhood stores had cigarettes near candy displays compared to 50% in high-income neighborhood stores. The average number of tobacco advertisements per store in those neighborhoods where more than 10% of the residents lived under the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) was 64.05 compared to 30.83 in the neighborhoods with less than 10% living under the FPL. Stores in neighborhoods with the highest percentage of minorities had 79% more tobacco advertisements on average than neighborhoods with a lower percentage of minorities. These results show the tobacco industry's use of point-of-purchase advertising is targeted to neighborhoods with low income and high-minority composition.

Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to

• Assess the extent of point-of-purchase advertising of tobacco products in convenience stores and other retail outlets.
• Recognize how the tobacco industry targets minority and low-income populations through point-of-purchase advertising.
• Learn a method to assess point-of-purchase advertising in their community.

Keywords: Tobacco, Minorities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered