Smoking cessation treatment and tobacco availability and advertising in Guatemala City′s pharmacies

Background: Guatemala, a party of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, is obliged to apply Articles 13 and 14 of the treaty: restrict tobacco advertising and promote the wider availability of smoking cessation treatment (SCT). Pharmacies are fundamental in providing SCT but can also increase the availability of tobacco products. Furthermore, availability of SCT might depend on neighborhood socioeconomic status (SES). Objective: To assess and compare SCT and tobacco availability and advertising in Guatemala City′s pharmacies by neighborhood SES. Methods: From a list of registered pharmacies in Guatemala City and classified by neighborhood SES, we will randomly select a representative sample of pharmacies. A validated survey will be used to determine the prevalence and characteristics of SCT and tobacco advertising. Three trained surveyors will visit each pharmacy, looking for SCT and tobacco advertising and interviewing pharmacists for available tobacco products, SCT and costs. Results: Data collection will be completed in May and analysis in July. We hypothesize that SCT availability and advertising is low compared to tobacco and that chain pharmacies have a higher percentage of SCT and tobacco availability, as well as tobacco advertising, compared to non-chain pharmacies, regardless of SES. Conclusions: We hypothesized that SCT availability and advertising, compared to tobacco, in Guatemala City′s pharmacies is low. Our data should prove useful to support a comprehensive program to make SCT readily available and decrease tobacco availability and advertising in pharmacies.