COMMUNITY MOBILIZATION TO REDUCE POINT-OF-PURCHASE ADVERTISING OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS

This project was designed to address the problem of point-of-purchase tobacco advertising through media advocacy and community mobilization. Precampaign assessment revealed a considerable amount and density of tobacco advertising and promotions in more than 100 stores sampled in San Jose, California. After sharing the results with community activis ts and other residents, a community mobilization campaign was instigat ed to capitalize on an existing sign control ordinance that limits sto re window coverage and sidewalk signs. Through presentations and media advocacy efforts, community residents were mobilized to file complain ts with the city's code enforcement office when neighborhood stores we re shown to be noncompliant with ordinance provisions. Relative to the baseline, significant reductions in campaign-related tobacco advertis ing variables were seen in the San Jose stores after the sign law camp aign. No changes were seen in four smaller reference communities. Diff erences were noted between stores close to and farther away from schoo ls. These results demonstrate that mobilization of community residents to activate enforcement of laws originally designed for other purpose s can have a significant impact on one aspect of tobacco point-of-purc hase advertising.