[HealthyTribes] July wrap up – Tobacco and Alcohol Retail Assessment Update

[Wylie Sarah A]

Good afternoon, TPEP grantees and other retail assessment partners.

This is your July monthly wrap-up update on the statewide tobacco and alcohol retail assessment.

Statewide progress: Here’s a brief snapshot of how the assessments are going statewide.

  *   Number of total assessments completed: Over 1,000 assessments are complete!
  *   Number of counties that have finished their data collection: 15 counties and Tribes have completed their assessments. Congratulations to Benton, Baker, Clackamas, Columbia, Crook, Curry, Hood River, Josephine, Klamath, Lake, Polk, Union, Wheeler, and Yamhill Counties and the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde for completing their assessments.
Anecdote of the month: We received the following story from Curry County about their assessments. This anecdote is a good example of how complicated the relationship is between store owners and the tobacco industry. Reach out to Brooklyn Wease at weaseb at currhch.org<mailto:weaseb at currhch.org> if you’d like to learn more.
During a retail assessment, we were approached by the store owner who made a comment about how tobacco companies are experts at making money. He went on to briefly describe his relationship with tobacco companies. He said that he sells tobacco products cheaper than what he buys them for. In return, tobacco companies send him checks if he’s keeping their products at the lowest price, filling space with a certain amount of their product, and/or selling a certain amount of product (depending on what was specified in the contracts he had signed with them). While his profit from tobacco products is minimal, he said, this way of doing business ensures that tobacco companies are making plenty of money.  It was a good experience to be able to hear a firsthand account of why/how things are done the way that they are.

Retail resource of the month: Want to learn more about the industry practices Brooklyn heard about? The retailer’s story is a likely an example of a “buy-down”, one of the many ways tobacco manufacturers and distributors keep prices low. This overview from the Public Health Law Center describes different types of discounts: http://www.publichealthlawcenter.org/sites/default/files/resources/tclc-fs-pricerelatedpromotions-2011.pdf.

This month’s photo is unrelated to the assessments, but it’s a current staff favorite on an alcohol promotion in the retail environment.

Keep up the good work, and keep the stories coming!

Best regards,
Sarah

Tobacco and Alcohol Retail Assessment Background:
The tobacco and alcohol retail assessment aims to gather statewide point-of-sale data at tobacco and alcohol retailers. The widespread availability of tobacco and alcohol products and the visibility of tobacco, alcohol and sugary drink marketing at point-of-sale remain a significant public health concern, particularly in low socio-economic communities or neighborhoods with higher density of communities of color.

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Sarah Wylie, MPH
Health Promotion Strategist
Health Promotion & Chronic Disease Prevention Section | Public Health Division | OREGON HEALTH AUTHORITY
p: 971-673-1051
c: 971-200-9887
e: sarah.a.wylie at dhsoha.state.or.us<mailto:sarah.a.wylie at dhsoha.state.or.us>
http://www.oregon.gov/OHA

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