Tobacco Marketing at SNAP and WIC Retailers in the Continental U.S., 2015 (2016)

Undergraduates: Shauna Rust, Allison E. Myers, PhD candidate Heather D'Angelo, PhD; Melissa Laska, PhD; Kurt M. Ribisl, PhD

Faculty Advisor: Kurt Ribisl
Department: Health Policy & Management

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In the U.S., low-income and racial/ethnic minority families are at increased risk for food insecurity and often rely on government programs such as SNAP and WIC for food assistance. Many food retailers that accept SNAP and/or WIC also commonly promote and sell tobacco, which remains the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. Given the influence of the retail environment on smoking and tobacco use, this study examined the presence of tobacco marketing in stores that millions of American families frequent for food purchases via SNAP and WIC. Data was obtained from a nationally representative sample of tobacco retailers (n=2305) in the contiguous U.S. We created bivariate and multivariate logistic regression models to assess the association between tobacco marketing types, WIC acceptance, SNAP acceptance, store type, and neighborhood demographics. We found that retailers accepting SNAP were significantly more likely to have interior tobacco advertisements and price promotions, while stores accepting WIC were significantly less likely to have any type of tobacco marketing. Retailers in neighborhoods with more black residents or individuals living in poverty were significantly more likely to have exterior tobacco advertisements. In order to mitigate these racial and socioeconomic disparities in tobacco marketing exposure, policymakers and practitioners should consider policies such as tobacco retailer licensing, healthy retailer licensing, and tobacco-free pharmacies.