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News
Rockland Co. Village Bans Tobacco Marketing Aimed at Kids
April 17, 2012
Point of Sale Displays an Important Cause of Youth Smoking
Last night, the Village of Haverstraw in Rockland County acted to protect children from the lure of attractive tobacco industry marketing by banning point of sale tobacco displays in stores, a move strongly supported by the American Cancer Society.
“The Village of Haverstraw put its children first by enacting this ban,” said Russ Sciandra, NYS Director of Advocacy, American Cancer Society of NY & NJ. “Eliminating point of sale displays in stores is an action local governments can take to keep kids out of the crosshairs of the tobacco industry.”
Research in the U.S. and abroad suggests that exposure to in-store tobacco promotions is an important cause of youth smoking. Nearly 90 percent of regular smokers start smoking before the age of 18. Very few begin after high school.
“Tobacco companies know that to stay profitable they must groom a new generation of smokers,” said Sciandra. “They do this through large, brightly colored displays and ads in stores that kids find alluring. Often these displays are placed near products that kids are interested in like toys and candy.”
Retail stores are one of the last places where tobacco companies can expose kids to their advertising. Consequently, tobacco companies spend billions of dollars each year marketing their deadly products at the point of sale. This is done by controlling dominant display space in retail stores and through in-store advertising. Both are typically found around the cash register, sometimes referred to within the industry as the “goal post” because it is the one place in the store where everyone must go. Tobacco companies invest a lot at these locations in creating so-called “power walls,” large, visually appealing displays of products intended to attract the interest of customers.
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