Table 1. Characteristics of Tobacco Retailers (N = 333), Retailer Neighborhoods, and Counties, 3 North Carolina Counties and State, 2011.
| Characteristic | Comparison Group | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buncombe County (n = 116) | Durham County (n = 115) | New Hanover County (n = 102) | Counties Combined (n = 333) | |
| Product type sold, no. (%) of retailersa | ||||
| Cigarettes | 116 (100) | 111 (100) | 97 (100) | 324 (100) |
| Smokeless tobacco | 102 (87.9) | 83 (74.8) | 74 (76.3) | 259 (79.9) |
| Retailer type, no. (%) of retailers | ||||
| Supermarket or grocery store | 20 (17.2) | 21 (18.3) | 18 (17.7) | 59 (17.7) |
| Gas and convenience | 66 (56.9) | 60 (52.2) | 44 (43.1) | 170 (51.1) |
| Convenience | 9 (7.8) | 19 (16.5) | 17 (16.7) | 45 (13.5) |
| Pharmacy or drug store | 13 (11.2) | 12 (10.4) | 13 (12.8) | 38 (11.4) |
| Tobacco store | 4 (3.5) | 2 (1.7) | 7 (6.9) | 13 (3.9) |
| Otherb | 4 (3.5) | 1 (0.9) | 3 (2.9) | 8 (2.4) |
| Retailer proximity to school, no. (%) of retailers | ||||
| >1,000 feet from school | 14 (12.1) | 25 (21.7) | 14 (13.7) | 53 (15.9) |
| ≤1,000 feet from school | 102 (87.9) | 90 (78.3) | 88 (86.3) | 280 (84.1) |
| Retailer neighborhood characteristic, mean (SD), % | ||||
| Black residents | 6.4 (8.7) | 41.5 (21.4) | 19.1 (19.3) | 22.6 (23.0) |
| Hispanic residents | 6.5 (5.2) | 16.1 (10.0) | 6.1 (5.0) | 9.7 (8.5) |
| Families living below poverty guidelines | 10.6 (8.0) | 15.7 (15.0) | 12.1 (13.3) | 12.8 (12.7) |
| Residents who have bachelor’s degree or more | 29.9 (12.9) | 36.0 (20.7) | 32.0 (14.5) | 32.7 (16.7) |
|
| ||||
| Characteristic | Buncombe County | Durham County | New Hanover County | North Carolina |
|
| ||||
| Smoking rate, %c | 14.6 | 14.7 | 15.1 | 19.8 |
| Median household income, $d | 44,190 | 49,894 | 48,553 | 45,570 |
| Black residents, %d | 6.4 | 38.0 | 14.8 | 21.5 |
| Hispanic residents, %d | 6.0 | 13.5 | 5.3 | 8.4 |
| Families living below poverty guidelines, %e | 14.7 | 16.1 | 15.4 | 15.5 |
| Residents who have bachelor’s degree or more, %d | 31.2 | 44.1 | 31.6 | 26.1 |
| Rural population, %d | 24.1 | 5.6 | 2.2 | 33.9 |
Abbreviations: SD, standard deviation.
a
Data were missing for 9 retailers (4 retailers in Durham County and 5 retailers in New Hanover County), so values are based on 324 retailers.
b
Other retailer types included beer, wine, and liquor stores and discount department stores.
c
North Carolina State Center for Health Statistics (28).
d
US Census Bureau (26).
e
2006–2010 American Community Survey (27).