Shadow report on violation of tobacco display and advertisement bans at points of sale 2015

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Tobacco industry continues to use points of sale (PoS) as avenues for advertisement and promotion targeting the youth and other groups. The study aims to survey compliance to legislation on commercial display of tobacco products and TAPS ban at PoS, and to shed light on enforcement and legislation policies. METHODS: FCA9s shadow reporting methods were adapted, and PoS identified in walking tours in central areas of 4 commercial districts in Istanbul, with a radius of 500 m, were observed and documented in June and October of 2015. RESULTS: Out of a total of 142 PoS observed, 98.6 % featured at least one type of display/TAPS ban violation, 71.8 % had tobacco product displays visible from outside, 51.4 % had tobacco displays in more than one place in the store, 28.9 % had tobacco displays which were physically accessible by customers, 73.2 % featured TAPS items on display units, 62 % featured display settings emphasizing certain brands, 24.6 % sold tobacco products by the stick, 45.8 % displayed packs by hiding pictorial health mornings, and % 90.1 had price tags that did not comply with the legislation. CONCLUSIONS: Violations of display and TAPS ban rules at PoS are commonplace and rising, necessitating the creation and strengthening of enforcement and sanction mechanisms. Partial ban causes ambiguity in compliance and enforcement/sanctioning. Legislation must be amended to completely ban the commercial display of tobacco products to make it compatible with the recommendation of WHO FCTC.