Shadow report on violation of tobacco display and advertisement bans at points of sale 2016

Abstract

Tobacco industry continues to use points of sale (PoS) as avenues for advertisement and promotion targeting the youth and other groups. The aim of the study is to survey compliance to legislation on commercial display of tobacco products and tobacco advertising promotion adn sponsorship (TAPS) ban at PoS, and to shed light on enforcement and legislation policies. Methods: :Framework Convention Alliance shadow reporting methods were adapted, and PoS identified in walking tours in central areas of 4 commercial districts in Istanbul, with a radius of 1 km, were observed and documented in December of 2016. Results: Out of a total of 162 PoS observed, 99,4 % featured at least one type of display/TAPS ban violation, 98,7 % had price tags that did not comply with the legislation, 96,3 % featured display settings emphasizing certain brand, 90,7 % had tobacco displays in more than one place in the store, 88,3 % had tobacco product displays visible from outside, 50 % featured TAPS items on display units, 46,9 % displayed packs by hiding pictorial health warnings, 43,8 % had tobacco displays which were physically accessible by customers, 39,5 % sold tobacco products by the stick. Compared to 2015, violations regarding “displays at more than one place”, “customers having physical access”, “displays hiding health warnings”, “brand promoting displays” and “sales by the stick” have risen considerably. Violations of display and TAPS ban rules at PoS are commonplace and rising, necessitating the creation and strengthening of enforcement and sanction mechanisms. Legislation must be amended to completely ban the commercial display of tobacco products to make it compatible with the recommendation of WHO FCTC.