News & Updates

ASPiRE’s Page Dobbs co-authored a study of tweets following the Dec. 20, 2019 law immediately raising the minimum legal sales age of tobacco products to 21 years. Researchers examined more than 4,600 tweets in the three months leading up to the date of the law and found that most were neutral (46.2%) or negative (38.8%), with most [...]

Research assistants aged 18-20 in New Jersey, New York, and North Carolina were interviewed about their attempts to buy tobacco products. Among the findings: non-chain stores lacked consistency in verifying ages; however, retailer education, adoption of ID scanners and enforcement could increase consistency. “Training for underage buyers in research and compliance assessments should focus on [...]

At its annual meeting on June 5, the U.S. Conference of Mayors approved a resolution supporting the prohibition on sales of all flavored tobacco products, including flavored e-cigarettes, menthol cigarettes, flavored smokeless tobacco, and flavored cigars. In a previous newsletter, we shared videos of some supportive mayors, and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has shared [...]

A study in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that New York City’s cap on tobacco retail licenses resulted in a significant decrease of stores selling tobacco products, with strong effects in districts with greater proportions of residents with lower incomes and with greater proportions of non-Hispanic Black residents. “NYC’s policy substantially reduced tobacco retailer density and [...]

In 2016, Chicago implemented restrictions on the sale of all flavored tobacco products at retailers within 500 feet of schools. Researchers found a statistically significant effect on the availability of flavored tobacco products, but more than half of retailers subject to the policy continued to display flavored products. “This study contributes to the evidence base indicating [...]

The CDC recently shared new online menthol fact sheets for all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Data presented include the number of adults who use menthol cigarettes, the number of adults that are considering quitting, the economic cost to the state of smoking, and the estimated number of people who would quit if [...]

A report from Truth Initiative says that sales restrictions on all flavored tobacco products, including all types of menthol products, are gaining momentum at the local and state levels. As of June 30 (2023), 395 jurisdictions and 3 Native American tribes have placed some type of restriction on the sale of flavored tobacco products, and [...]

Sales of nicotine lozenges, pucks, and pouches more than doubled in two years, according to a new report from the Federal Trade Commission, while the number of cigarettes sold by the largest companies decreased. The numbers from 2022 also show that menthol cigarettes were 36 percent of total cigarette sales. Of the $8.01 billion spent [...]

Tobacconomics released a report assessing the effect of policies that restrict the sale of flavored tobacco products in retail businesses using data from tobacco stores, convenience stores, and gas station/convenience stores in the U.S. “Despite concerns that such policies harm tobacco retailers, the findings suggest that these restrictions have no negative effect on retail businesses,” [...]

A study published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research found that tobacco retailer density in California decreased both immediately and over time following a 2016 license fee increase from a one-time-only fee of $100 to an annual fee of $265, with more pronounced impact in ZIP codes with higher proportions of people with low incomes and with a majority [...]