Rice County Releases Tobacco Ads Survey

Editor's Note: This story was posted on the Rice County website.

Rice County youth are confronted by an average of 85 tobacco ads every time they enter local stores, according to a recent survey of tobacco advertising conducted by the Four Corners Partnership.

The survey focused on retail stores that are accessible to youth and did not include liquor stores or other adult-only business that sell tobacco. The ads uncovered by the survey represent just a small part of the $10.5 billion the tobacco industry spends each year to market tobacco products – much of which is spent to advertise in ways that influence youth.

“We want to raise the level of awareness about the influence that tobacco ads have on our youth and their decision to smoke,” said Lisa Guck, coordinator for the Four Corners Partnership in Rice County.  “Studies have shown that the more tobacco ads kids see in stores, the more likely they are to smoke.”

Volunteers from the Four Corners Partnership visited local stores to record the number of ads visible outside and inside each store.  The ads counted in the survey include everything from large signs to cardboard display boxes to small signs attached to the edge of shelves that hold tobacco products.

“I was astonished by how many tobacco ads we counted,” said Ellen Simones of Lonsdale.  “I was not consciously aware of the tobacco ads before I helped with the survey.  Now they jump out at me every time I go into a store.”

According to the most recent data reported to the Federal Trade Commission, in 2010 the six largest tobacco companies spent about $8.5 billion (over $23 million every day) to promote their products.  Over 90 percent of this money is spent in retail stores for advertisements, price discounts, promotional allowances, or special deals such as buy-one-get-one-free.

Many of these marketing efforts reach kids. Studies show that retail store tobacco advertising and promotions directly influence what products and brands kids buy and use.

A study of cigarette advertising and teen smoking by researchers at Stanford University found that youth who are exposed to cigarette advertising in retail stores on a regular basis were at least twice as likely to try smoking compared to youth who visit stores infrequently.

According to a 2012 Report of the U.S. Surgeon General, almost 90 percent of smokers begin smoking before age 18.

To learn more, visit www.4cornerspartnership.org or look for “Four Corners Partnership” on Facebook.

The Four Corners Partnership is a coalition of concerned citizens and local organizations coordinated by the Public Health Services in Dodge, Goodhue, Rice and Steele counties. The goal of the Partnership is to reduce the harm caused by tobacco in our four-county region.