title: "It Looks Like an Adult Sweetie Shop": Point-of-Sale Tobacco Display Exposure and Brand Awareness in Scottish Secondary School Students.
abstract: As further restrictions have been placed on tobacco advertising and promotions, point-of-sale (PoS) displays of cigarettes in shops have become an increasingly important source of young people's exposure to tobacco products. This study explored the relationship between PoS displays of cigarettes and brand awareness among secondary school students in Scotland.
  
  
  
  Cross-sectional school surveys (n = 1406) and focus groups (n = 86) were conducted with S2 (13-14 years) and S4 (15-16 years) students in four schools of differing socioeconomic status in 2013, prior to the PoS display ban in large shops. Adjusted negative binomial regression analysis examined associations between brand awareness and exposure variables (visiting tobacco retailers, noticing displays of tobacco products).
  
  
  
  Students visiting small shops more frequently (relative rate ratio [RRR] 1.19, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01-1.41) and those who noticed cigarette displays in small shops (RRR 1.24, 95% CI 1.03-1.51) and large supermarkets (RRR 1.15, 95% CI 1.01-1.30) had higher brand awareness. The focus groups supported these findings. Participants described PoS tobacco displays as being eye-catching, colorful and potentially attractive to young people.
  
  
  
  This mixed-methods study showed that higher cigarette brand awareness was significantly associated with regularly visiting small shops and noticing PoS displays in small and large shops, even when students' smoking status, smoking in their social networks, leisure activities, and demographics were included as confounding variables. This highlights the importance of PoS displays of tobacco products in increasing brand awareness, which is known to increase youth smoking susceptibility, and thus the importance of implementing PoS display bans in all shops.
  
  
  
  As increasing restrictions have been placed on tobacco promotion in many countries, PoS displays of cigarettes in shops have become an important source of young people's exposure to tobacco products and marketing. This mixed-methods study showed that prior to the PoS display ban in Scotland, and controlling for other factors, 13- and 15-year olds who regularly visited small shops and those who noticed PoS displays in small and large shops, had a higher awareness of cigarette brands. This highlights the importance of PoS displays in increasing youth brand awareness, which increases smoking susceptibility, and thus the need for comprehensive bans on PoS displays which cover all shops.
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit, School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
authors.forename: Winfried
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: van der Sluijs
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit, School of Medicine, University of St Andrews, St Andrews, UK.
authors.forename: Farhana
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Haseen
authors.affiliation: Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.affiliation: ScotCen, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Andy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: MacGregor
authors.affiliation: ScotCen, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Clare
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sharp
authors.affiliation: Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, School of Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Amanda
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Amos
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Best
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Marketing, School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
authors.forename: Martine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stead
authors.affiliation: Institute for Social Marketing, School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eadie
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research on Environment Society and Health, School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pearce
authors.affiliation: Public Health Research and Policy, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Frank
authors.affiliation: School of Health Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling, UK.
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Haw
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D040541:Marketing; D011356:Product Labeling; D012574:Schools; D012606:Scotland; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D013334:Students; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000191:economics; D062789:Tobacco Products / Q000191:economics*