LAKEPORT, Calif. – New research shows that in Lake County the availability of e-cigarettes has grown 14 percent since 2013.
This finding is part of research released Wednesday on the availability and marketing of tobacco products, alcohol, condoms and healthy and unhealthy food options in California stores that sell tobacco.
Throughout California, health advocates held 13 press events to release results of the scientific survey, which is the largest its kind.
It builds upon an initial research released three years ago in March 2014 and provides insights into changes in the availability and marketing of the studied products during this time.
Information was collected in the summer of 2016 from more than 7,100 stores in all 58 California counties including pharmacies, supermarkets, delis, convenience and liquor stores as well as tobacco-only stores.
The survey found the following for Lake County:
– Tobacco chew is sold at 87.2 percent of stores in Lake County;
– 86.4 percent of stores sell a popular sweet ‘little cigar’ in a single pack for under $1;
– 74.5 percent of stores sold non- or low-fat milk, but nearly 97.9 percent sell alcohol;
– 85.1 percent of surveyed stores sell condoms, but only 40.4 percent sell them on unlocked shelves.
“The expanded availability of e-cigarettes are of particular concern and reflect the spike in use by teens and young adults in the last three years,” said Lake County Health Officer Dr. Karen Tait.
The University of California, San Diego 2016 California Student Tobacco Survey shows that 22.7 percent of youth in Lake County use tobacco products.
Another goal was to examine the accessibility and marketing of healthy and unhealthy products to youth.
“This survey found that our community’s youth are inundated with unhealthy messages and choices. We need to change what information and options our kids are exposed to and work to surround them with healthy choices and messaging instead,” said Tait.
The survey found the following for Lake County:
– Only 19.1 percent of stores advertised healthy products on their storefronts, but 72.3 percent of storefronts advertised unhealthy products, and 66.7 percent of stores near schools have storefront advertising for unhealthy products;
– More than 29 percent of stores place tobacco products or ads in kid-friendly locations, such as tobacco ads at “kid-level” (three feet or below) or tobacco products near candy or toys;
– More than 23.9 percent of stores placed alcohol ads at “kid-level” or near kid-friendly items such as candy or toys;
– 95.7 percent of stores sell flavored non-cigarette tobacco products, which often have kid-appealing flavors, such as grape, watermelon, chocolate, gummy candies and even breakfast cereals. Similarly, 100 percent of stores near schools also sell flavored tobacco products;
– Alcopops are sold at 89.1 percent of stores in Lake County.
“Lake County Public Health is committed to continuing to work with local health advocates and partners to provide accurate information and help make the healthy choice the easy choice for Californians,” said Tait.
Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community is a statewide campaign formed by tobacco prevention, nutrition, alcohol abuse prevention and STD prevention partners collaborating to improve the health of Californians by informing them about the impact of unhealthy product availability and marketing in the retail environment.
For state and county-specific data and more information on Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community, visit www.healthystoreshealthycommunity.com .
Survey shows continuing widespread availability of tobacco products in Lake County
- Lake County News reports
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