title: Mapping the tobacco retailers in edirne, Turkey.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The youth smoking rate is on the rise in Turkey. Although many marketing bans have been effectively implemented, regulations related to retail tobacco outlets have gone unnoticed and have not been effectively supervised. In this study, we aimed to show the lack of legal regulation related to the high retail tobacco outlet density with displays.
  
  
  METHODS
  In the center of Edirne, the marketing environment, numbers and geographical distribution of retail tobacco outlets were documented and mapped with geographical positions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  There were 569 retail tobacco points of sale in 520 stores. We calculated one tobacco retail outlet per 270 people. This retail outlet density rate is above the national average and about four times higher than the density in Istanbul. Products especially attracting children, such as chocolate, sweet candy and chewing gum, were set up near the tobacco stands and were easy for children to recognize and reach. It can be seen on the city map that 47% of retail tobacco outlets are within 100 m of education, health or sport facilities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We concluded that one of the reasons for the increasing prevalence of cigarette use, especially among adolescents in Turkey, is deregulation of the retail tobacco marketing industry as a result of the privatization process of the national tobacco monopoly. Using mapping techniques can be useful in terms of controlling the retail marketing environment.
authors.affiliation: Department of Chest Diseases, Faculty of Medicine, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey.
authors.forename: Celal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Karlıkaya
authors.affiliation: Department of Architecture and City Planning, Technical Sciences Vocational School of Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey.
authors.forename: Hüseyin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ince
authors.affiliation: Department of Primary Education, Faculty of Education, Trakya University, Edirne, Turkey.
authors.forename: Nurcan
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Ozkan
keywords: Tobacco retail; advertising and promotion; denormalization; environment; globalization; public policy