title: Targeted advertising, promotion, and price for menthol cigarettes in California high school neighborhoods.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe advertising, promotions, and pack prices for the leading brands of menthol and nonmenthol cigarettes near California high schools and to examine their associations with school and neighborhood demographics.
  
  
  METHODS
  In stores (n = 407) within walking distance (0.8 km [1/2 mile]) of California high schools (n = 91), trained observers counted ads for menthol and nonmenthol cigarettes and collected data about promotions and prices for Newport and Marlboro, the leading brand in each category. Multilevel modeling examined the proportion of all cigarette advertising for any menthol brand, the proportion of stores with sales promotions, and the lowest advertised pack price in relation to store types and school/neighborhood demographics.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For each 10 percentage point increase in the proportion of Black students, the proportion of menthol advertising increased by 5.9 percentage points (e.g., from an average of 25.7%-31.6%), the odds of a Newport promotion were 50% higher (95% CI = 1.01, 2.22), and the cost of Newport was 12 cents lower (95% CI = -0.18, -0.06). By comparison, the odds of a promotion and the price for Marlboro, the leading brand of nonmenthol cigarettes, were unrelated to any school or neighborhood demographics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In high school neighborhoods, targeted advertising exposes Blacks to more promotions and lower prices for the leading brand of menthol cigarettes. This evidence contradicts the manufacturer's claims that the availability of its promotions is not based on race/ethnicity. It also highlights the need for tobacco control policies that would limit disparities in exposure to retail marketing for cigarettes.
authors.affiliation: Stanford Prevention Research Center, Department of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, 1070 Arastradero Rd, suite 353, Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. lhenriksen@stanford.edu
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Henriksen
authors.forename: Nina C
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Schleicher
authors.forename: Amanda L
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Dauphinee
authors.forename: Stephen P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Fortmann
mesh_terms: D000329:Advertising / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D001741:Black or African American; D002140:California; D003132:Commerce / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006801:Humans; D008610:Menthol / Q000191:economics; D015233:Models, Statistical; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012574:Schools; D012907:Smoking / Q000191:economics* / Q000208:ethnology; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000191:economics*; D062789:Tobacco Products
chemical_list: D008610:Menthol