Purpose
Tobacco manufacturers have targeted youth and ethnic/racial minorities with tailored advertising. Less is known about how characteristics of storefront tobacco advertisements, such as location, position, size, and content, are used to appeal to demographic subgroups.
Design
The occurrence and characteristics of storefront cigarette advertising were observed for all licensed tobacco retailers in two defined communities.
Setting
Measures were taken in two Boston, Massachusetts, area urban communities: a low-income, minority community and a high-income, nonminority community.
Subjects
No human subjects were involved in this study.
Measures
Advertisement position (attached or separated from storefront), size (small, medium, or large), mentholation, and price were recorded. Geographic coordinates of tobacco retailers and schools were mapped using ArcGIS 9.2.
Analysis
Differences between the communities in advertisement number and characteristics were assessed using bivariate analyses. Logistic regression was used to ascertain the odds of specific advertising features occurring in the low-income/minority community.
Results
The low-income/minority community had more tobacco retailers, and advertisements were more likely to be larger, promote menthol products, have a lower mean advertised price, and occur within 1000 feet of a school.
Conclusion
Storefront cigarette advertising characteristics that increase exposure and promote youth initiation were more prominent in a low-income/minority community. The findings emphasize the need for more effective regulation of storefront tobacco advertising.
Background-Little is known about the prevalence of adverse symptoms electronic cigarette (ecigarette) users report experiencing.
Methods-BetweenAugust 2016 and May 2017, we conducted a nationally representative crosssectional telephone survey of 4,964 US adults age 18 and over. Respondents who reported ever trying e-cigarettes were asked whether they ever experienced six symptoms they thought were caused by e-cigarette use. In weighted analyses, we assessed whether symptoms varied by demographics, e-cigarette use frequency, and cigarette smoking status.Results-Approximately one-fourth of respondents (n=1,624, 26.8%) reported ever trying ecigarettes. Most were current (40.3%) or former (30.7%) cigarette smokers, with 29.0% never smokers. Just over half (58.2%) reported at least one symptom and on average 1.6 (SE=0.1) symptoms. Symptoms included cough (40.0%), dry or irritated mouth or throat (31.0%), dizziness or lightheadedness (27.1%), headache or migraine (21.9%), shortness of breath (18.1%), change in or loss of taste (12.9%), or other (6.2%; most commonly nausea, tight chest, congestion). Among past 30-day e-cigarette users, current and never cigarette smokers were more likely than former
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