TOBACCO FREE TOMPKINS
ITHACA YOUTH COUNCIL
AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY

For media inquiries, contact:
Ted Schiele, Tompkins County Health Department (607) 274-6712
Susan Moranda, American Cancer Society, (607) 766-6910

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Ithaca Youth Council and Tobacco Free Tompkins Address Impact of In-Store Tobacco Marketing

March 7, 2012 (Ithaca, N.Y.) – Local anti-tobacco advocates say that the Surgeon General’s Report on teen smoking, due to be released March 8, 2012 at 10:00 a.m., highlights a problem they’ve been talking about for some time: teens are influenced by prominent tobacco marketing in convenience stores, pharmacies and other retail locations where tobacco is sold.

The report, titled A Report of the Surgeon General: Preventing Tobacco Use Among Youth and Young Adults, is expected to report that the nation is falling far short of our national youth smoking goals and call for immediate and urgent action to protect children from the predatory marketing tactics of the tobacco industry, according to the American Cancer Society. 

“The tobacco industry typically requires large product displays right behind the cash register in stores that sell tobacco. Most adults who don’t smoke don’t notice these ‘Power walls’, but teens do,”  said Ted Schiele, Program Coordinator for Tobacco Free Tompkins. “Abundant research shows that teens regularly exposed to retail tobacco displays are more likely to smoke.”

To counter the influence that tobacco product displays have on youth smoking, certain countries have banned open displays of tobacco products in non-age restricted stores that sell tobacco. Canada and Ireland are among the nations with a tobacco display ban.

Recognizing the impact that tobacco use has on local youth, The Ithaca Youth Council (IYC) heard a presentation about local efforts to address tobacco marketing at its March 1 public meeting. Staff from Tobacco Free Tompkins, a program of the Tompkins County Health Department, described how the tobacco industry has concentrated billions of dollars in tobacco marketing at the retail point of sale. Tobacco marketing is instrumental in establishing cigarette brand preference among youth, while doing little to influence brand switching among adult smokers.

“When I was younger, I was not typically phased, like many other children my age, by the colorful and big tobacco ads,” said Patrick Hollister, a member of the Ithaca Youth Council. “I grew  up knowing the downfalls of smoking, and I felt lucky, because I knew the devastating side effects later in life. It’s very disheartening to know that such companies target the most vulnerable population out there, and it’s something that needs to be changed.”

The IYC has taken a position on tobacco issues in the past, adopting a May 2009 Resolution in support of legislation that was before the Ithaca Common Council to regulate smoking in certain outdoor public spaces. The Ordinance, which includes a smoke-free Commons, was passed by Common Council in April 2010.  

In New York State, over 80% of retailers that sell tobacco devote 50% or more of the merchandising space behind the checkout counters to tobacco displays, sometimes referred to as “power walls”, according to surveys conducted by the New York Tobacco Control Program (NYTCP). When children see such extensive tobacco product displays it distorts their perceptions regarding the availability of cigarettes and increases the likelihood that they will start smoking.

The amount of space that tobacco products take up in the stores that youth most often go to is astonishing — an average of 32 square feet in licensed tobacco retailers, and even more — 50 to 60 square feet in NYS pharmacies and other mass merchandisers. The tobacco industry lures kids to use and get addicted to cigarettes through the use of these prominent cigarette product displays.

According to the American Cancer Society, communities can reduce youth exposure to tobacco advertising in stores by banning the display of tobacco products and by restricting the number and location of licensed tobacco retailers.

Over the last decade, New York has made impressive progress in its efforts to reduce youth smoking. In 2010, 12.6 percent of high school students smoked compared to 2000 when 27.1 percent were smokers – a reduction of more than half.

Although progress has been made in NYS to reduce youth smoking there is a tremendous amount of work to be done to continue to protect children.   According to the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, there are 22,500 NYS children under 18 who become new daily smokers each year and there are 31.6 million packs of cigarettes bought or smoked by NYS children each year.

Nearly 90% of regular smokers start smoking before the age of 18. While several factors contribute to youth smoking, tobacco marketing and promotion in the retail environment is one of the most significant. Research in the U.S. and abroad demonstrates that exposure to in-store tobacco promotions is a primary cause of youth smoking and big tobacco knows it – tobacco companies spend over 90% of their annual marketing dollars in the retail environment.  Overall, tobacco companies spend nearly twice as much on U.S. marketing ($10.49 billion annually) than junk food, soda and alcoholic beverage manufactures combined (5.28 billion annually).

Tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of preventable death in New York State and costs the state $8.17 billion annually in health care costs, including $3.3 billion in annual Medicaid costs. 

The Surgeon General’s report will be available at www.surgeongeneral.gov and www.cdc.gov/tobacco.

For more information contact: Ted Schiele, 607-274-6712.

For more information on how to quit smoking, call the NYS Smokers’ Quitline at 1-866-NY-QUITS (1-866-697-8487).

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About Tobacco Free Tompkins
Tobacco Free Tompkins (T-Free), a program of the Tompkins County Health Department, is a Community Partnership funded by the New York Tobacco Control Program. T-Free engages in community education and advocacy dedicated to keep the air smoke-free, support smokers who want to quit, and help teens beat the tobacco trap, because we cannot afford another generation of tobacco addiction. Visit Tobacco Free Tompkins on the Web at www.tompkins-co.org/tobaccofree.

About the Ithaca Youth Council
The Ithaca Youth Council is a self-directed group of teens who are charged with representing youth to Ithaca’s city government and advocating for youth throughout the community.  As a collaborative effort between the Ithaca Youth Bureau, the Greater Ithaca Activities Center (GIAC) and the Southside Community Center, Youth Council has four main objectives: developing future leaders, giving formal voice to youth, engaging in civic education and improving conditions for local youth. Visit the Ithaca Youth Council on the Web at www.ithacayouthcouncil.org.

About the American Cancer Society
The American Cancer Society combines an unyielding passion with nearly a century of experience to save lives and end suffering from cancer. As a global grassroots force of more than three million volunteers, we fight for every birthday threatened by every cancer in every community. We save lives by helping people stay well by preventing cancer or detecting it early; helping people get well by being there for them during and after a cancer diagnosis; by finding cures through investment in groundbreaking discovery; and by fighting back by rallying lawmakers to pass laws to defeat cancer and by rallying communities worldwide to join the fight. As the nation’s largest non-governmental investor in cancer research, contributing more than $3.4 billion, we turn what we know about cancer into what we do. As a result, more than 11 million people in America who have had cancer and countless more who have avoided it will be celebrating birthdays this year. To learn more about us or to get help, call us any time, day or night, at 1-800-227-2345 or visit cancer.org.