Self-reported Individual and Theoretical Environmental Exposures to the Tobacco Retail Environment among Adolescent Boys

Abstract

The objective of this study was to examine factors related to self-reported and theoretical exposures to tobacco marketing among Ohio adolescents. Participants were 1,221 adolescent males aged 11 to 16 years residing in one of nine rural Appalachian counties or urban Franklin County in Ohio. The baseline survey used an interviewer-administered item to assess exposure to tobacco marketing in terms of number of convenience store visits in the past week. This measure was later categorized as 0, 1, 2-3 and 4 or more visits in the past week. The survey also measured demographics and tobacco use. ArcGIS software was used to map home, school, and tobacco retail outlet locations and to later count the number of outlets within a boy’s path between home and school, which was then categorized as 0, 1, 2-3 and 4 or more possible exposures within a path. Analyses were conducted to determine the associations between personal and neighborhood characteristics and self-reported and theoretical exposures to tobacco marketing. Overall, race and ethnicity, ever having used tobacco, and living in a rural area strongly predicted self-reported exposures to tobacco marketing. However, only living in a rural area significantly increased the likelihood of exposure to theoretical environmental tobacco retail marketing.