The following are the highlights from POS fact sheet and policy resource
- The largest U.S. cigarette and smokeless tobacco manufacturers spent over $8.6 billion in 2014 on advertising and promotional expenditures in the retail environment, including advertisements posted at the retail location, price discounts, promotional allowances, coupons and sampling.
- The advertising and promotional efforts of tobacco companies in the retail environment cause the initiation and progression of tobacco use among young people.
- Tobacco retailers include convenience stores, supermarkets, liquor stores, newsstands and pharmacies. These tobacco retailers are often more heavily populated in areas with a greater number of minority and low-income populations.
- Tobacco companies use a variety of methods in the retail environment to advertise and promote their products, including:
- Reducing the prices of their products to circumvent higher taxes by dropping wholesale prices and employing tactics such as couponing, multipack discounts (e.g., buy-two-get-one-free or buy-two for-one deals) and price discounts (e.g., $2.50 off one pack);
- Promoting products in the retail environment by using displays and advertisements, providing retailers with incentives for advertising their products; and
- Paying retailers to strategically place tobacco products front-and-center in retail environments which are easy-to-see for customers, often around the checkout counter.
- Several states and localities have implemented policies around the retail environment, supplementing and augmenting federal restrictions.
- Reducing the prices of their products to circumvent higher taxes by dropping wholesale prices and employing tactics such as couponing, multipack discounts (e.g., buy-two-get-one-free or buy-two for-one deals) and price discounts (e.g., $2.50 off one pack);
Click here to read more details