Operation Storefront

• Author: Laura Bailey,Clete Snell
• DOI: 10.1177/1541204004270940
• Published date: 01 January 2005
• Date: 01 January 2005
• Subject Matter: Articles

10.1177/1541204004270940Youth Violence and Juvenile JusticeSnell, Bailey / TOBACCO RETAILER ADVERTISING

OPERATION STOREFRONT

Observations of Tobacco Retailer Advertising

and Compliance With Tobacco Laws

Clete Snell

Laura Bailey

Prairie View A&M University

Almost 90% of tobacco users began the habit as teens. Despite the Master Settlement

Agreement with states, the tobacco industry has increased its marketing efforts among

tobacco retailer outlets such as convenience stores. New tobacco retailer laws have

been enacted but are not regularly enforced. Point-of-purchase tobacco advertising,

promotions, and compliance with tobacco laws were recorded among a sample of 409

stores in three Texas counties. Patterns of storefront advertising mirrored youth and

minority purchase and brand preferences. Active enforcement and retailer education

resulted in less tobacco advertising and greater compliance with the use of required

warning signs. Tobacco advertising and noncompliance with state laws is most prob-

lematic among nonchain stores and in rural locations.

Keywords: tobacco; advertising; youth; tobacco laws

The use of tobacco products is the single greatest preventable cause of death in the

United States. Almost 90% of those who use tobacco began the habit before age 18 (Centers

for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 1994). Every day more than 6,000 persons

younger than age 18 try their first cigarette and more than 3,000 of these youth go on to

become daily smokers (CDC, 1998a). In 1996, out of the 1.8 million Americans who

became daily smokers, 1.2 million (66%) were younger than age 18, and between 1988

and 1996, the number of youth who became daily smokers increased by 73% (Johnston,

O’Malley, & Bachman, 1996).

There is strong evidence that youth grossly underestimate their ability to quit using

tobacco products. Among daily smokers who began smoking as teens, nearly 75% were still

smoking 5 years later and 70% state that they wished they had never started (Johnston,

O’Malley, & Bachman, 1999).

One of the precursors to adolescent cigarette use is easy access to tobacco products

(Stanton, Mahalski, McGee, & Silva, 1993). Youth frequently report that they can obtain

cigarettes from retailers most of the time (Jason, Billows, Schnopp-Wyatt, & King, 1996).

78

Authors’ Note: This work was supported by the Texas Department of Health, Office of Tobacco Prevention and

Control. The authors would like to thank their colleagues in the Texas Tobacco Research Collaborative.

Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, Vol. 3 No. 1, January 2005 78-90

DOI: 10.1177/1541204004270940

© 2005 Sage Publications