Classifying the comprehensiveness of flavoured tobacco sales restrictions: development and application of a tool to examine US state and local tobacco policies

ObjectivesComprehensive tobacco control policies with minimal exemptions can reduce tobacco use and sales. Many states and localities have adopted flavoured tobacco product (FTP) sales restrictions. This study describes the development and application of a schema to characterise the comprehensiveness of these FTP sales restrictions.DesignWe coded state and local FTP sales restrictions enacted June 2007–March 2021 for retailer, tobacco product, and flavour inclusions and exemptions. Guided by FTP literature, legal resources and meetings with FTP policy experts, we developed a six-level classification scheme to characterise coded FTP policies from least to most comprehensive. We present descriptive statistics of FTP policy features and comprehensiveness.ResultsAs of 31 March 2021, 7 state-level and 327 local-level FTP sales restrictions were enacted in the USA. Most state-level policies (71.4%) were categorised in the second lowest comprehensiveness category; local policies most commonly fell within the lowest (48.9%) or highest (26.0%) comprehensiveness categories. Across jurisdictions, adult-only retailers were most frequently exempted from the FTP sales restrictions (state: n=1, 14.3%; local: n=184, 56.3%); and most jurisdictions included electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) as a banned product (state: n=6, 87.5%; local: n=227, 100%). While just over half of state (n=4, 57.1%) and local (n=169, 51.7%) sales restrictions included menthol e-cigarettes, most excluded menthol cigarettes and/or menthol smokeless tobacco.ConclusionsComprehensiveness of FTP sales restrictions in the USA varies widely. Current and future FTP policies would be strengthened by including all flavours and all tobacco products—particularly menthol cigarettes—and by avoiding exemptions for certain retailers, particularly adult-only retailers.

The EVALI outbreak and tobacco sales in the USA, 2014–2020

BackgroundThe E-cigarette, or Vaping Product-Use Associated Lung Injury (EVALI) Outbreak of 2019 hospitalised thousands and killed dozens of people in the USA and raised perceptions of the dangers posed to health by electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). These illnesses along with continued increases in youth vaping rates lead to the passage of many state and federal laws intended to curtail the sale of flavoured e-cigarettes. Little is known about the impact of these events on US e-cigarette and cigarette retail sales.MethodsUsing Nielsen Scantrack sales data from January 2014 to January 2020 for 23 US states, we evaluate the effect of the EVALI outbreak. First-differenced state-panel regressions tracking unit sales of total-level and category-level e-cigarettes and cigarette sales controlling for price, Tobacco 21 policy coverage, product distribution, seasonality, EVALI-attributable deaths, and state-level e-cigarette policies affecting the availability of e-cigarettes (non-tobacco flavoured and total) were employed.ResultsDollar sales of e-cigarettes declined 29% from their pre-EVALI peak by January 2020. Total sales of e-cigarettes declined in response to EVALI deaths and the total e-cigarette sales ban put in place in Massachusetts adopted in its wake. Cigarette sales were largely unchanged by either the direct or indirect policy effects of the EVALI outbreak, except for in Massachusetts, where cigarette sales—particularly those smoked by young people—rose temporarily after a total ban on e-cigarette sales.ConclusionSales of e-cigarettes declined in response to the EVALI outbreak and from the most restrictive regulatory policies that were adopted in response, while sales of cigarettes were affected less.

What Happens When a Retailer Drops a Product Category? Investigating the Consequences of Ending Tobacco Sales

The paper measures the cross-category spillover effects of a retailer changing its assortment at the extensive margin (by dropping an entire category from its portfolio) on the outcomes for its rivals in the industry.

Membership, Mobilization, and Policy Adoption in the Gilded Age: The Case of the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union

Relatively little is known about how late nineteenth-century associations worked to get their policy goals adopted by state governments. We study this question here, considering the Woman’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) and three policies it supported: scientific temperance instruction, increasing the age of consent, and prohibiting tobacco sales to minors. Overall, WCTU-supported legislation was more likely to succeed in states with unified Republican state legislatures, aided by neighboring state adoptions (scientific temperance) and greater WCTU membership (increasing age of consent and prohibiting tobacco sales to minors). These findings are supported by historical evidence, which reveals how WCTU leadership targeted particular states when lobbying for scientific temperance instruction laws and utilized its broad membership base to pressure state legislatures on the other two issues. In total, these results show how one late nineteenth-century membership group was able to facilitate the successful spread of its policies throughout the nation.

Impact of Local Flavored Tobacco Sales Restrictions on Policy-Related Attitudes and Tobacco Product Access

Background As of September 2020, more than 300 state and local jurisdictions restrict the sales of flavored tobacco, with some including menthol. Aims o evaluate the impact of local ordinances restricting the sale of flavored tobacco, we surveyed Californians regarding policy support and perceived access to flavored tobacco. Methods In 2019, we conducted an online survey of 3,075 California youth and young adults recruited via social media, about half of whom lived in a policy jurisdiction. Logistic regressions assessed differences on propensity score–weighted outcomes, policy support, and perceived access. Results Most respondents indicated agreement with almost all policy support statements. Although policy respondents were less likely than rest-of-California respondents to report perceived difficulty in buying flavored cigars, flavored vape users in policy jurisdictions were more likely than those in the rest of California to report perceived difficulty in buying flavored e-liquid. Regardless of jurisdiction, certain priority subgroups were significantly more likely to report perceived difficulty in accessing flavored cigars, flavored vaping products, flavored e-liquid, and menthol cigarettes. Discussion With some exceptions, these findings demonstrate that among vape users in policy jurisdictions and priority subgroups, there is a higher likelihood of reporting perceived difficulty to access flavored tobacco products. Conclusions Findings might be an early indication of shifts in social norms about flavored tobacco products in California, which could gain traction as local sales restriction ordinances proliferate throughout the state and a statewide flavored-tobacco sales restriction goes into effect.

Development and Sales of Tobacco Cultural Tourism Products Under the Background of Global Tourism

Objectives: Through the investigation of tobacco development and tobacco sales, this paper studies the development and sales of tobacco cultural tourism products under the background of global tourism. Methods: Taking a scenic spot as an example, this paper takes the number of tourists received in 2019 and 2020 and the number of cigarette sales of retailers in the scenic spot as the original data. Correlation analysis is used to demonstrate the point of view. Results: The development efficiency of tobacco cultural tourism products is affected by sales volume. The increase in the number of tourists is in direct proportion to cigarette sales. When the number of tourists is large, the corresponding cigarette sales will be large. When the number of tourists is small, cigarette sales are also relatively small. Secondly, affected by some special activities and holidays, cigarette sales will also increase in a short time, but it has little to do with the change in the number of tourists. Conclusion: The development of tobacco cultural tourism products should be based on the sales volume and the cultural orientation of scenic spots. The large increase of tourists can bring considerable economic benefits to the scenic spot. Expanding publicity to attract tourists is an indispensable means for the development of the scenic spot. This is also the core concern of the development of tobacco cultural tourism products. When formulating relevant measures for the development and sales of tobacco cultural tourism products, managers should take into account the interests of all parties and achieve balanced development.