Restrictions on tobacco industry advertising and promotions at the point-of-sale are effective strategies for counteracting the tobacco industry’s efforts to attract new, current, and recently quit smokers.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2018 alone, the tobacco industry spent over $9 billion on advertising and promotional expenditures, spending more at the point-of-sale than anywhere else.
Tobacco industry marketing, advertising and promotions have been found to:cover of "Deadly Alliance: How Big Tobacco and Convenience Stores Partner to Market Tobacco Products and Fight Life-Saving Policies"
Encourage youth smoking uptake. The NCI has demonstrated a causal relationship between exposure to tobacco advertisements and youth smoking uptake. Across multiple studies, research has shown that youth more frequently exposed to tobacco promotion are 60% more likely to have tried smoking and 30% more likely to be susceptible to future smoking.
Increase total cigarette sales.
Distort youth perceptions about the availability, use and popularity of cigarettes.[2, 3] Read more on the impact of tobacco retailers near schools and the Center for Public Health and Tobacco Policy’s fact sheet “Influencing Youth at the POS.”
Foster positive brand imagery.
Cue cravings and undermine quit attempts.
Fuel tobacco-related disparities. The tobacco industry has a long history of targeted marketing toward low income and minority populations[12,13] Read more on disparities in point of sale advertising.
For more information on the impact of tobacco marketing, advertising and promotions, review this fact sheet developed by the California Department of Public Health. To learn more about the the problem and why retail tobacco control is important read Counter Tobacco’s “War in the Store” and “Why Retail Tobacco is Important” pages or read the Deadly Alliance Report.
What are POS Advertising Restrictions?
The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gave states and local governments the power to enact certain restrictions on tobacco advertising. Review this presentation by ChangeLab Solutions and the Public Health Law Center to learn more about how the 2009 Act impacts regulation of tobacco advertising and promotions.
The Public Health Law Center suggests the following strategies for restricting tobacco advertising at the point of sale. Refer to their guide, “Restricting Tobacco Advertising—Tips and Tools” for more details:
Restrict ALL advertising without regard to its content (“content neutral” advertising restriction). This would affect advertising for all products (e.g. alcohol, food, toys, etc.), not just tobacco. For example, some municipalities limit the percentage of window space that can be taken up by advertisements of any kind or place a limit the size of advertisements allowed.
Restrict the time, place and/or manner (but not the content) of tobacco advertising. The 2009 Family Smoking Prevention & Tobacco Control Act gave state and local governments the authority to enact these restrictions, in order to address public health concerns, especially protecting youth from the harms of tobacco. The following examples illustrate potential time, place and manner restrictions:
Time restrictions: Require retailers to cover or remove advertising during times when youth are present (e.g., after school hours).
Place restrictions: Prohibit tobacco advertising at stores near schools within or within 10 feet of the cash register.
Manner restrictions: Prohibit outdoor signage or sandwich board style ads.
You can implement POS advertising restrictions through three main mechanisms:
State or local laws or ordinances: Laws can be passed at the state or local level to restrict tobacco advertising. The Public Health Law Center recommends a multi-tiered approach that includes numerous restrictions so that if one restriction is found unconstitutional, the other provisions will remain. Refer to their guide, “Restricting Tobacco Advertising—Tips and Tools” for more details.
Licensing laws: Advertising restrictions can be incorporated as stipulations (or “plug-ins”) of tobacco retail licensing. See Counter Tobacco’s page on Licensing and Zoning for more information about tobacco retail licensing. Licensing laws that affect the density, location or type of tobacco retailers will also inherently reduce exposure to POS advertising.