THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY AND THE RETAIL ENVIRONMENT

Regulating the tobacco retail environment

Strong restrictions on advertising, discounting, promoting, and selling tobacco in the retail environment are critical to prevent initiation, encourage quitting, protect young people, and mitigate the impact of tobacco marketing for groups who have been disproportionately targeted. See below for recommendations for policies to create a safer retail environment. 

For a comprehensive list of all such policies, please refer to the full report. 

Federal action needed to regulate the tobacco retail environment

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) must use all its powers to enforce restrictions in the retail environment including:

• Removing all tobacco products that have not submitted premarket review applications or otherwise are illegally on the market. FDA should prioritize enforcement against products that appeal to youth and have the highest addiction potential – whether those are products with high nicotine concentrations or other design features that are appealing to youth.

• Requiring that all tobacco products be kept behind the counter

This is not a comprehensive list. For more policy recommendations, read our full report.

Retailer responsibility

Retailers that sell tobacco products can be responsible actors by:

• Selling only those tobacco products that have received marketing authorization by the FDA

• Displaying signage regarding tobacco and nicotine cessation resources

• Carrying and offering for sale at least one type of nicotine replacement therapy 

• Requiring all tobacco products be kept out of view or behind the counter

• Confining all tobacco advertising inside the store to only the area where the tobacco products are sold

This is not a comprehensive list. For more policy recommendations, read our full report.

Disparities in the tobacco retail environment

Tobacco retailers are often more heavily populated in areas with a greater number of minority and low-income residents. A study of current adult smokers found that those with incomes below the poverty level were more than twice as likely to purchase a tobacco product due to a special price promotion, and Black or Hispanic individuals have higher odds of reporting exposure to tobacco advertising compared to White people. This phenomenon is not limited to cigarettes – geographic, socioeconomic, and racial and ethnic disparities also exist for exposure to e-cigarette advertising in the retail environment.

Black D.C. neighborhoods have greater marketing for flavored tobacco products, including cigars

The figures above from 2017 show that as the proportion of Black residents in Washington, D.C. neighborhoods increases, the predicted price per cigarillo decreases. Figure (a) shows the quartile distribution of the Black population in Washington, D.C., with darker blue representing a greater number of Black residents. Figure (b) shows the prediction map of price per cigarillo with darker colors representing lower prices. 

Licensing and retailer density

Retailer density is an important predictor of youth and young adult smoking. As the number of tobacco retailers increase, so does exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion. Convenience stores, where 70% of youth shop at least once a week, have more tobacco marketing and sell more cigarettes than any other type of retail store. Cigarette sales account for one-third of all purchases at convenience stores.

As of 2022, an estimated 380,000 retailers sell tobacco products in the U.S. This number is equivalent to 25 tobacco retailers for every Starbucks or 28 tobacco retailers for every McDonalds. According to data from 2016, an estimated 48% were convenience stores (with and without gas), 25% were supermarkets, 13% were off-premise liquor stores, 7% were pharmacies, 4% were tobacco shops, and 3% were discount department stores, warehouse stores, and newsstands.

Stop & Shop halts sales of all tobacco products, encourages people to quit

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