GetMadAboutAds

Young people 18 and under are especially vulnerable to tobacco advertising.

• Tobacco advertising is most commonly found in convenience stores-- where 3 out of 4 teens shop every week.
  
  
• In NYS, retail stores average 5 exterior and 21 interior tobacco ads
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• Teens are more likely to be influenced by cigarette advertising than by peer pressure.
  
  
• Kids are more than twice as likely as adults to notice and remember retail tobacco advertising.
  
  
• Tobacco companies spend more than $13 billion on retail advertising and promotion -- a successful strategy for hooking young smokers.

(See campaign fact sheet with complete citations here.)

Tobacco industry marketing targets young people 18 and under.

• The U.S. Federal Court of Appeals concluded---beyond any reasonable doubt---that the tobacco industry created highly sophisticated marketing campaigns to get young people to become smokers.

Tobacco products are readily available to young people 18 and under in communities across New York State.

• There is one licensed tobacco retailer for every 194 children in NYS.
  
  
• In 2008, one in twelve New York tobacco retailers was caught selling tobacco products to minors during annual compliance checks.
  
  
• Despite record levels of compliance with laws restricting tobacco sales to minors, 1 in 5 high school smokers usually obtain their cigarettes by purchasing them in retail stores.

The number of licensed tobacco retailers in a community or neighborhood affects youth smoking behaviors and access to tobacco products.

• Greater concentration of tobacco retailers is accociated with illegal cigarette purchases by young people and higher rates of youth smoking prevalence.
  
  
• Reducing retail tobacco outlet density is a viable policy for preventing youth smoking.

Get Involved

Retailer Actions

There is one licensed tobacco retailer for every 194 children in New York State.

There are nearly 800 tobacco retailers in Albany, Schenectady and Rensselear counties.

Reducing, rearranging or eliminating tobacco advertising is a good way for licensed tobacco retailers to help prevent youth from using tobacco products.

About the advantages of limiting or removing tobacco advertising from YOUR store.
To reduce, rearrange or eliminate tobacco advertising in YOUR store.

Local Government Resolutions

THANK YOU. . .
to the ALBANY AND SCHENECTADY COUNTY LEGISLATURES for unanimous passage of Resolutions encouraging tobacco retailers to reduce or eliminate tobacco advertising in their stores.

• Albany County Resolution
• Schenectady County Resolution

Thank you, too, to the following municipalities for passing similar Resolutions.

• City of Cohoes Resolution
• Town of Glenville Resolution
• Town of Niskayuna Resolution
• Town of Sand Lake Resolution
• Town of Schaghticoke Resolution

Contact YOUR local legislators and encourage them to support a resolution to reduce or eliminate tobacco advertising in retail stores in your community. To help you find out who your county, town, village, or city legislators are, visit the New York State Local Government website.

Get Mad About Ads

Join Our E-mail Action Team

Sign a Petition to End the Sale of        Tobacco Products in Supermarkets

Sign a Petition to Stop Retail       Advertising to Kids

Contact Your Legislators

If you are a retail store owner, take action and reduce, rearrange or eliminate YOUR tobacco advertising. And be sure to let us know if you do.