Skip to main content
PMC home page
Tobacco Control logoLink to Tobacco Control
. 2004 Sep;13(3):315–318. doi: 10.1136/tc.2003.006577

Reaching youth at the point of sale: cigarette marketing is more prevalent in stores where adolescents shop frequently

L Henriksen 1, E Feighery 1, N Schleicher 1, H Haladjian 1, S Fortmann 1
PMCID: PMC1747887  PMID: 15333890

Abstract

Objective: Although numerous studies describe the quantity and nature of tobacco marketing in stores, fewer studies examine the industry's attempts to reach youth at the point of sale. This study examines whether cigarette marketing is more prevalent in stores where adolescents shop frequently.

Design, setting, and participants: Trained coders counted cigarette ads, products, and other marketing materials in a census of stores that sell tobacco in Tracy, California (n = 50). A combination of data from focus groups and in-class surveys of middle school students (n = 2125) determined which of the stores adolescents visited most frequently.

Main outcome measures: Amount of marketing materials and shelf space measured separately for the three cigarette brands most popular with adolescent smokers and for other brands combined.

Results: Compared to other stores in the same community, stores where adolescents shopped frequently contained almost three times more marketing materials for Marlboro, Camel, and Newport, and significantly more shelf space devoted to these brands.

Conclusions: Regardless of whether tobacco companies intentionally target youth at the point of sale, these findings underscore the importance of strategies to reduce the quantity and impact of cigarette marketing materials in this venue.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (63.2 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson Susan, Hastings Gerard, MacFadyen Lynn. Strategic marketing in the UK tobacco industry. Lancet Oncol. 2002 Aug;3(8):481–486. doi: 10.1016/s1470-2045(02)00817-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Carter S. M. Going below the line: creating transportable brands for Australia's dark market. Tob Control. 2003 Dec;12 (Suppl 3):iii87–iii94. doi: 10.1136/tc.12.suppl_3.iii87. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Carter S. M. New frontier, new power: the retail environment in Australia's dark market. Tob Control. 2003 Dec;12 (Suppl 3):iii95–ii101. doi: 10.1136/tc.12.suppl_3.iii95. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Point-of-purchase tobacco environments and variation by store type--United States, 1999. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2002 Mar 8;51(9):184–187. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Chung Paul J., Garfield Craig F., Rathouz Paul J., Lauderdale Diane S., Best Dana, Lantos John. Youth targeting by tobacco manufacturers since the Master Settlement Agreement. Health Aff (Millwood) 2002 Mar-Apr;21(2):254–263. doi: 10.1377/hlthaff.21.2.254. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Feighery E. C., Ribisl K. M., Clark P. I., Haladjian H. H. How tobacco companies ensure prime placement of their advertising and products in stores: interviews with retailers about tobacco company incentive programmes. Tob Control. 2003 Jun;12(2):184–188. doi: 10.1136/tc.12.2.184. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Feighery E. C., Ribisl K. M., Schleicher N., Lee R. E., Halvorson S. Cigarette advertising and promotional strategies in retail outlets: results of a statewide survey in California. Tob Control. 2001 Jun;10(2):184–188. doi: 10.1136/tc.10.2.184. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Feighery Ellen C., Ribisl Kurt M., Schleicher Nina C., Clark Pamela I. Retailer participation in cigarette company incentive programs is related to increased levels of cigarette advertising and cheaper cigarette prices in stores. Prev Med. 2004 Jun;38(6):876–884. doi: 10.1016/j.ypmed.2003.12.027. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Fraser T. Phasing out of point-of-sale tobacco advertising in New Zealand. Tob Control. 1998 Spring;7(1):82–84. doi: 10.1136/tc.7.1.82. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Greaves Lynn. Canada: demolishing the power walls. Tob Control. 2003 Mar;12(1):7–8. doi: 10.1136/tc.12.1.7-a. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Hamilton William L., Turner-Bowker D. M., Celebucki Carolyn C., Connolly G. N. Cigarette advertising in magazines: the tobacco industry response to the Master Settlement Agreement and to public pressure. Tob Control. 2002 Jun;11 (Suppl 2):ii54–ii58. doi: 10.1136/tc.11.suppl_2.ii54. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hammond D., Fong G. T., McDonald P. W., Cameron R., Brown K. S. Impact of the graphic Canadian warning labels on adult smoking behaviour. Tob Control. 2003 Dec;12(4):391–395. doi: 10.1136/tc.12.4.391. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Jamrozik Konrad. Population strategies to prevent smoking. BMJ. 2004 Mar 27;328(7442):759–762. doi: 10.1136/bmj.328.7442.759. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Kaufman Nancy J., Castrucci Brian C., Mowery Paul, Gerlach Karen K., Emont Seth, Orleans C. Tracy. Changes in adolescent cigarette-brand preference, 1989 to 1996. Am J Health Behav. 2004 Jan-Feb;28(1):54–62. doi: 10.5993/ajhb.28.1.6. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. King C., 3rd, Siegel M. The Master Settlement Agreement with the tobacco industry and cigarette advertising in magazines. N Engl J Med. 2001 Aug 16;345(7):504–511. doi: 10.1056/NEJMsa003149. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. MacFadyen L., Hastings G., MacKintosh A. M. Cross sectional study of young people's awareness of and involvement with tobacco marketing. BMJ. 2001 Mar 3;322(7285):513–517. doi: 10.1136/bmj.322.7285.513. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Pucci L. G., Joseph H. M., Jr, Siegel M. Outdoor tobacco advertising in six Boston neighborhoods. Evaluating youth exposure. Am J Prev Med. 1998 Aug;15(2):155–159. doi: 10.1016/s0749-3797(98)00034-8. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Rogers T., Feighery E. C., Tencati E. M., Butler J. L., Weiner L. Community mobilization to reduce point-of-purchase advertising of tobacco products. Health Educ Q. 1995 Nov;22(4):427–442. doi: 10.1177/109019819502200402. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Schooler C., Feighery E., Flora J. A. Seventh graders' self-reported exposure to cigarette marketing and its relationship to their smoking behavior. Am J Public Health. 1996 Sep;86(9):1216–1221. doi: 10.2105/ajph.86.9.1216. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. Slade J. The pack as advertisement. Tob Control. 1997 Autumn;6(3):169–170. doi: 10.1136/tc.6.3.169. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Wakefield M., Morley C., Horan J. K., Cummings K. M. The cigarette pack as image: new evidence from tobacco industry documents. Tob Control. 2002 Mar;11 (Suppl 1):I73–I80. doi: 10.1136/tc.11.suppl_1.i73. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Wakefield Melanie A., Ruel Erin E., Chaloupka Frank J., Slater Sandy J., Kaufman Nancy J. Association of point-of-purchase tobacco advertising and promotions with choice of usual brand among teenage smokers. J Health Commun. 2002 Mar-Apr;7(2):113–121. doi: 10.1080/10810730290087996. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Wakefield Melanie A., Terry-McElrath Yvonne M., Chaloupka Frank J., Barker Dianne C., Slater Sandy J., Clark Pamela I., Giovino Gary A. Tobacco industry marketing at point of purchase after the 1998 MSA billboard advertising ban. Am J Public Health. 2002 Jun;92(6):937–940. doi: 10.2105/ajph.92.6.937. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Tobacco Control are provided here courtesy of BMJ Publishing Group

RESOURCES