Register for our next quarterly webinar in our Healthy POS series – May 27th at 1pm EST. Dr. Rosario of UNC Greensboro will be presenting a case study on tobacco advertising in African American communities in North Carolina.
Despite evidence of disparities in exposure to tobacco retailers and point-of-sale advertising, little is known about the extent to which tobacco advertisements within African American communities use three prominent messaging strategies: reassure use is safe despite health risks, redirect attention from health risks to other product features, or incite bravery to use despite health risks.
Using a multi-stage design, this study used Counter Tools’ Store Mapper to identify retailers, then assessed tobacco ad messages at retail stores in predominately African American communities in North Carolina. Findings suggest messaging strategies differ across product types. Cigarette and non-large cigar advertisement messages may prey upon African American communities by redirecting focus from harmful product effects toward favorable product attributes. Additionally, reassurance messaging may misconstrue risks associated with e-cigarettes.
Countering misleading messages and advocating policies regarding advertisement content and density within African American communities could help reduce health disparities.
Dr. Rosario is an associate professor at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, where she also serves as Associate Chair of the Department of Public Health Education. Her primary research interests are to advance place-based public health and impact social determinants of tobacco-related health disparities. Dr. Rosario’s research and practice are guided by principles of social justice and health equity in tobacco prevention and control.
The webinar is Wednesday, May 27th, 2020 | 1:00PM EST
Edit: View the webinar recording below and download the slides here.
