Secret pacts between tobacco companies and retailers are a bad bargain for public health

 

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/944496

 News Release 23-Feb-2022
Study shows agreements allow tobacco manufacturers to give their products primary placement in stores, discount pricing and target specific demographics
Peer-Reviewed Publication
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Tobacco companies handsomely incentivize retailers around the world to follow harsh requirements related to selling and marketing tobacco products through contracts that fly under the radar of both consumers and policymakers.

These agreements allow tobacco manufacturers to give their products primary placement in stores, discount their pricing and target specific demographics. Such rigorous control undermines ongoing public health efforts to decrease tobacco use, especially in settings where products are easily accessible, according to a new study by the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Global Public Health.

-----

While retailers were often given substantial incentives – including monetary awards, vouchers, event tickets and other lavish gifts, such as all-expenses-paid trips to Fiji, luxury cars and once-in-a-lifetime experiences – these deals came at the expense of ceding store control to tobacco companies. Compliance with requirements was often enforced at the threat of sanctions or loss of incentives, which could be detrimental to a retailer’s operation.

-----