Filed under: Retail, Tobacco, Consumer Protection, Products, Stores, Spending
By JENNIFER PELTZ and MEGHAN BARR
NEW YORK — Anti-smoking advocates and health experts hailed proposals from Mayor Michael Bloomberg that would keep cigarettes out of sight in New York City stores, while tobacco companies and smokers called it an overreach.
The ban, which would be the first of its kind in the U.S., is aimed at discouraging young people from smoking.
Keeping cigarettes under wraps could help, anti-smoking advocates say, citing studies that link exposure to smoking with starting it. Shops from corner stores to supermarkets would have to keep tobacco products in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in other concealed spots. Officials also want to stop shops from taking cigarette coupons and honoring discounts, and are proposing a minimum price for cigarettes, though it’s below what the going rate is in much of the city now.
While some of the research focuses on cigarette advertising, an English study of 11-to-15-year-olds published last month in the journal Tobacco Control found that simply noticing tobacco products on display every time a youth visited a shop raised the odds he or she would at least try smoking by threefold, compared to peers who never noticed the products.
“What’s exciting about this [New York City proposal] is that this is the most comprehensive set of tobacco-control regulations that affect stores or the retail outlets,” said Kurt Ribisi, a professor of public health and cancer prevention specialist at the University of North Carolina. Moreover, cigarettes’ visibility can trigger impulse buys by smokers who are trying to quit, he and city officials say.
The American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the American Lung Association, other anti-smoking groups and several City Council members applauded Bloomberg’s announcement, made at a Queens hospital on Monday. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, who largely controls what goes to a vote, said through her office that she “supports the goal of these bills” but noted they would get a full review.
The ban on displaying cigarettes follows similar laws in Iceland, Canada, England and Ireland, but it would be the first such measure in the U.S. It’s aimed at discouraging young people from smoking. According to the Rockland County Times, the Village of Haverstraw in Rockland County passed such a ban last April, but rescinded it four months later because it couldn’t afford to fight a lawsuit brought by tobacco companies and convenience stores.
“Such displays suggest that smoking is a normal activity,” Bloomberg said. “And they invite young people to experiment with tobacco.”
But smokers and cigarette sellers said the measure was overreaching.
“I don’t disagree that smoking itself …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance