Tobacco Advertising

Numerous studies have demonstrated the relationship between tobacco marketing and youth smoking behavior:

• A study published in the May 2007 issue of Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, the first national study to examine how specific marketing strategies in convenience stores and other retail settings affect youth smoking, concluded that the more cigarette marketing teens are exposed to in retail stores, the more likely they are to smoke, and that restricting these retail marketing practices would reduce youth smoking. Specifically, the study found that retail cigarette advertising increased the likelihood that youth would initiate smoking.

• 78.2 percent of middle school smokers and 86.5 percent of high school smokers prefer Marlboro, Camel and Newport – three heavily advertised brands.31 According to a 2005 survey, Marlboro, the most heavily advertised brand, constitutes almost 50 percent of the youth market but only about 40 percent of smokers over age 25.

• A study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute found that teens are more likely to be influenced to smoke by cigarette advertising than they are by peer pressure.

• A study in the Journal of Marketing found that teenagers are three times as sensitive as adults to cigarette advertising.

Our goal is to have tobacco products fully out of sight at stores where kids shop, if they are present at all.

If you would like us to do a presentation for your group about tobacco-free grocery stores, please contact us. 

For more information go to: www.tobaccofreegrocery.org or www.tobaccofreenys.org