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 [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

An ASPiRE team that included Paul Delamater, Sarah Halvorson-Fried, Amanda Kong, and Kurt Ribisl examined the clustering of tobacco retailers near public schools. They found that tobacco retailers were closer to schools in rural areas, cities, and towns, and were more dense around schools in rural areas, cities, and suburbs compared to random locations. “This study provides compelling evidence that [...]

A study led by ASPiRE’s Page Dobbs and Lisa Henriksen explored the effect of state laws setting the minimum legal sales age that also prohibit localities from enacting stricter laws. (Dr. Dobbs presented early findings at the May 2023 CAB meeting in San Diego.) The study updates the status of preemption in laws enacted in 40 states between 2015 [...]

A nationwide group of 31 tobacco control stakeholders participated in focus groups about the implementation, enforcement, and equity implications of the federal Tobacco 21 law. The experts had experience in policy, evaluation, and implementation and participated in focus groups convened in 2021. Participants shared insights from their communities and highlighted barriers to enforcement, saying current [...]

Recent research by the CDC and Truth Initiative looked at e-cigarette sales by product and flavor type from 2020 to 2022. Total e-cigarette unit sales increased by more than 46%, while shares of prefilled cartridges decreased. At the end of the study period, the five top selling brands were Vuse, JUUL, and NJOY cartridges, along [...]

Researchers examined the impact of state-level policies on adolescent use of Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) from 2013-2019, including smokefree laws and minimum legal sales age laws that applied to ENDs and tobacco excise tax laws. The study used data from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health and the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation [...]