Youth Tobacco Prevention Group Member Scans City of Racine Tobacco Retailers

‘Use of products containing nicotine in any form among young people, including in e-cigarettes, is unsafe.’ This is just one of many key messages from the U.S. Surgeon General’s comprehensive report on electronic cigarettes.

As a member of FACT, Wisconsin’s youth tobacco prevention movement, it’s important that everyone, especially teens, learn about tobacco products, including e-cigarettes. Our local group at Harborside Academy has been educating our peers about the dangers of tobacco and e-cigarettes through FACTivisms. A FACTivism is an outreach activity that spreads the truth about tobacco to other teens in our communities.

I recently assisted our local Kenosha, Racine and Walworth Counties (KRW) Tobacco-Free Coalition with an environmental scan project over the holidays in the cities of Kenosha and Racine. The environmental scans provide FACT and the Coalition with information about youth exposure to tobacco products by raising awareness about local tobacco marketing and product availability. We focused our scans on other tobacco products (OTPs) like e-cigarettes and little cigars or “cigarellos”. I completed ten scans on five retailers in each of the cities of Kenosha and Racine.

E-cigarette signage of the most common brands, VUSE and blu, were few and limited to behind the cashwrap or to small, branded countertop display cases accessible from behind the cashwrap and only with employee assistance. There was almost no exterior signage advertising e-cigarettes, except for VUSE and blu, and was limited to small window cling appearing on a store door or window. The e-cigarettes were displayed behind the cashwrap and the countertop display cases were not located near candy or other snack foods. E-cigarette flavors were limited to an average of two to three flavors including classic tobacco, menthol or berry. Displays behind the cashwrap or countertop display cases of several assorted bottles of e-liquid were not seen.

Little cigars or “cigarellos” were displayed behind the cashwrap and were accessible only by employee aasistance. The common major brands were Swishwer Sweets and White Owl. One exception at a retailer in the City of Racine was a display of an assortment of cigarellos behind a mixed 5-cent-a piece candy display. The least expensive package of cigarellos was priced “2 for 99¢”. Cigarellos were sold in large quantities of assorted flavors with new flavors not seen before like, “Diamond”, Wild Rush” and “OG Kush”.

My goal is to educate other teens through peer-to-peer advocacy activities like the environmental scans so they can make the choice to avoid addiction and live healthy tobacco-free lives. FACT is part of the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program and is managed by the American Lung Association in Wisconsin. For more information about FACT, please visit www.factmovement.org.

Jennifer White, Age 17

Kenosha

Harborside Academy FACT Group