Tobacco advertising at the point of sale in St. Louis, MO

Background: Point-of-sale (POS) advertising provides an opportunity for tobacco industry communication with current, former, and potential (young) smokers. The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (FSPTCA) requires tobacco products to be kept out of sight and bans its retail within 1000 feet (ft) of a school. Objective: To assess and compare tobacco POS advertising in retailers within 1000 ft to those within 1001-2000 ft of a school in the Saint Louis Metropolitan Area. Methods: All registered tobacco retaliers (n=1234) and schools (n=581) in the Metropolitan area were plotted into a map. Using the GIS system, retailers were divided into those within 1000 ft and those within 1001-2000 ft of the schools. We selected 200 from the former and 200 from the latter group by assigning each retailer a random number. A previously validated checklist was used to assess POS advertising. Data on special discounts and offers was also collected. Results: Data collection, currently underway, will be completed in February. Preliminary analyses of the 169 stores surveyed yield that tobacco POS is highly prevalent. Compared to stores within 1001-2000 feet, stores within 1000 feet have the same amount of POS advertising. In both stratums, special discounts and offers are highly prevalent. Conclusion: We hypothesized that tobacco POS is at least as prevalent in stores within 1000 feet compared to those within 1001-2000 ft of schools. For the FSPTCA to be effective, POS advertising should be banned regardless of school distance.