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Assessing Oregon’s Retail Environment

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Assessing Oregon’s Retail Environment: New report shines light on the tobacco industry’s tactics across Oregon and in Coos County

Coos Health & Wellness and Oregon Health Authority have teamed up to provide eye-opening findings about how heavily tobacco is marketed in our community and to showcase the tools available to make retail outlets healthier for all Oregonians.

The tobacco industry spends more than $100 million per year to market its products in Oregon communities. It pours most of this money into convenience stores, grocery stores and other retailers where people — including youth — shop daily for food and beverages.

The purpose behind this massive investment? To trigger nicotine cravings and impulse purchases among people trying to quit tobacco, and to hook new customers — mostly teens and young adults — on a deadly product.

To create a picture of tobacco retail marketing across the state, local health department staff and volunteers visited nearly 2,000 Oregon tobacco retailers. These visits provided striking information about how the tobacco industry was pushing its deadly products.

The findings are clear: The tobacco industry targets people in Oregon, especially youth, communities of color and people living with lower incomes. Consider these Coos County facts from the assessment:

  • 100% percent of retailers were selling flavored tobacco products in Coos County. These included e-cigarettes, in flavors such as “Pebbles Donuts” and “Tropical Fusion,” which are aimed squarely at youth and young adults.  Statewide, 93 percent of retailers sold these products. Menthol is also a flavor and Statewide, 96% of retailers sold these products.
  • In Coos County, tobacco products were displayed near candy and toys in 17% percent of the retail locations assessed. Statewide, 20 percent of retailers placed tobacco products directly next to these kid-attracting treats.
  • Discounted tobacco prices, through coupons and other discounts, were offered by 2 out of 3 retailers in Coos County. Statewide, 64 percent of retailers used these discounts to make tobacco more accessible to youth and people with lower incomes.
  • Advertising for at least one type of tobacco product appeared on the outside of 43%  of Coos County’s stores in the survey. Statewide, nearly 50 percent of stores carried these ads, which typically led to a steady stream of indoor ads with big, colorful images often placed at the eye level of young children. Advertising culminated at the register, where the industry had paid dearly for “power walls” of tobacco products that encouraged impulse buys.

OHA’s assessment sheds light on the variety and intensity of tobacco marketing targeting youth. It also shows how the tobacco industry targets communities that already experience higher rates of tobacco use and tobacco-related chronic disease and death. To learn more about the retail assessment results and the ways communities can respond, read the full statewide report.

 

Katrinka McReynolds
Tobacco Prevention Specialist
281 LaClair Street Coos Bay, OR 97420
541-266-6766 | katrinka.mcreynolds@chw.coos.or.us
Crisis Line: 541-266-6800
Coos County is an Affirmative Action/EEO | TTY Relay: 7-1-1

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