219153 Influence of retail tobacco advertising and promotions on smoking among adults and youth in New York state

Tuesday, November 9, 2010 : 5:04 PM - 5:21 PM

Annice E. Kim, PhD, MPH , Public Health Policy Research Program, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Brett R. Loomis, MS , Health, Social, and Economic Research, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
James Nonnemaker, PhD , Public Health Policy Research, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Andrew Busey, BS , Public Health Policy Research, RTI International, Research Triangle Park, NC
Background: Studies suggest that youth exposure to retail tobacco advertising is associated with smoking experimentation and progression to established smoking. Previous studies have relied on self-reported exposure which is prone to recall bias. Little is known about how retail tobacco advertising influences adults. We used observational measures of retail tobacco advertising and promotions to assess their influence on youth and adult smoking.

Methods: Retail tobacco advertising and promotions were measured annually by trained coders conducting in-store observations of a random sample of licensed tobacco retailers in New York state (NYS) from 2004-2008. We examined the number and placement of interior/ exterior advertisements; and the number and type of price promotions. Annual, county level estimates of retail tobacco marketing were linked to smoking outcomes (e.g. ad awareness, attitudes, purchasing/smoking behaviors) from the NYS Adult and Youth Tobacco Surveys. Regression analyses were conducted to estimate the influence of retail tobacco marketing on smoking outcomes, controlling for individual and county-level confounders.

Results: Youth who lived in areas with higher prevalence of tobacco price promotions were more likely to be a current smoker and to report retail stores as their usual source of cigarettes. The average number of retail tobacco ads did not significantly affect any outcomes. Adults who lived in areas with higher prevalence of retail tobacco marketing were more aware of ads and had more permissive attitudes about tobacco marketing.

Conclusions: In New York, retail tobacco marketing appears to influence smoking behaviors among youth, but only awareness and attitudes among adults.

Learning Areas:
Program planning
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Describe how retail tobacco advertising and promotions influence youth and adult smoking.

Keywords: Tobacco Policy, Marketing

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the task leader for the Tobacco Industry Monitoring component of the NY TCP evaluation
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.