Electronic Cigarette Retail Outlets and Proximity to Schools

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Tobacco Control
• Environmental Health

Background:

• Smoke-free policies aim to reduce tobacco use.
• The retail availability of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and their proximity to schools is a growing public health concern.
• Understanding the distribution of e-cigarette retailers is crucial for effective tobacco control strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare the retail distribution and population density of electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes) and conventional cigarettes.
• To examine e-cigarette availability in communities with and without e-cigarette restrictions within smoke-free environments.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving field observations of 57 tobacco retailers in two Central Kentucky counties.
• Geocoding of store and school addresses using ArcGIS to determine proximity.
• Bivariate comparisons of tobacco retailer and e-cigarette store rates per population.

Main Results:

• 53% of tobacco retailers sold e-cigarettes, with availability not differing based on local e-cigarette restrictions.
• The study area had 8.29 tobacco retailers and 4.40 e-cigarette distributors per 10,000 population.
• 88% of schools had a tobacco retailer and 68% had an e-cigarette distributor within one mile.

Conclusions:

• E-cigarette use restrictions were not associated with reduced retail availability in this exploratory study.
• E-cigarettes are readily available in retail outlets, including those located near schools.
• Findings suggest a need to re-evaluate current policies and consider strategies to limit e-cigarette access, particularly for youth.