Examining Tobacco Point of Sale Advertising Around Tulsa Public Schools High Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between tobacco point of sale advertising in convenience stores within a ½ mile radius of public high schools and the socioeconomic status of the student population and area that the school is in. The population of interest was high school aged adolescents in the urban Tulsa area. Socioeconomic status was determined by graduation rate, free or reduced lunch, median household income, poverty level, percentage of minority population, and percentage of population with less than a high school graduate education. Student demographics was gathered from the Tulsa Public Schools system and the Oklahoma State Department of Education State Public Enrollment Totals for fiscal year 2015-2016. Neighborhood demographics was drawn from the US Census Bureau 2010-2014 American Survey 5-year Estimate. There were 7 high schools and 10 convenience stores included in this study. Data was collected in a descriptive cross sectional manner. Data was analyzed for statistical significance in SPSS (Version 23). The 7 high schools and socioeconomic status were the independent variables. There were 7 dependent variables studied; total signage, outdoor signage, indoor signage, price promotion, positive wording, colorful advertisements, and most advertised brands (Newport and Marlboro). The total signage was also tabulated for mean and standard deviation across all socioeconomic areas to understand an average of tobacco signage within a ½ mile radius of all included high schools regardless of SES in the Tulsa Public Schools system. Multiple independent sample t-tests were completed to test for significance based on the variables of interest were conducted using SPSS (Version 23). A Bonferroni correction was applied to counteract the problem of multiple comparisons, the adjusted alpha levels of .017 per test (.05/3) was utilized. It was found that there was significantly more Newport tobacco signage around the school of very low SES compared to areas of low SES. There were no other statistically significant results. Further research is recommended to increase the size of the study to include areas of suburban, peri-urban, and rural school districts as well as areas of high socioeconomic status.