Study finds correlation between number of tobacco retailers and prevalence of tobacco use in Virginia counties

Mary Cunningham — Thu, 25 Aug 2022 16:59:02 +0000

Study finds correlation between number of tobacco retailers and prevalence of tobacco use in Virginia counties Mary Cunningham Thu, 08/25/2022 - 12:59

A new study from Hong Xue and colleagues shows that the county-level association between tobacco retailers and adult smokers can be largely explained by several social determinants of health, including mental and physical health.

Hong Xue, Associate Professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy

Smoking-related costs in the United States account for more than 12% of health care spending, making the United States one of the top countries to have health issues caused by smoking. Many public health practitioners and researchers, including Associate Professor Hong Xue in the Department of Health Administration and Policy, have identified the importance of evidence-based policies and regulations to reduce tobacco use, including regulating the tobacco industry.

Xue’s most recent study found that a higher number of tobacco retailers in a Virginia county is associated with a higher prevalence of adult smoking in that county. The analysis done by the interdisciplinary research team found that the higher number of smokers in a county is largely explained by social determinants of health, including socioeconomic status, environmental factors, risk conditions or behaviors, and population health, more than the amount of tobacco retailers.

“Tobacco retailers are more prevalent in areas where the population has low income and a lower quality of physical and mental health, responding to the higher demand of tobacco products in these areas. A higher supply in turn promotes greater demand. This is a dynamic enforcing feedback loop that policies and regulations need to intervene. Also, it’s not only the store selling tobacco that is attracting more smokers, but other aspects of life that are leading people to smoke,” said Xue, who was the principal investigator. “Thus, efforts to reduce tobacco use and consequent negative health effects should explore the impact of improving regional social determinants of health.”

This is the first study that identified the spatial relationship between tobacco retail outlets and smoking prevalence in Virginia and revealed the importance of social determinants in tobacco control.

“This study helps disentangle the complicated relationship between tobacco retailers and adults who smoke and provides actionable evidence to local, state, and federal regulators for effective tobacco prevention and control,” said Xue. “Reducing the number of tobacco retailers might not be sufficient. Policy or program intervention may wish to focus on the social factors, such as reducing the rate of violent crime or addressing issues related to mental distress and physical inactivity.”

Digging deeper into the social determinants of health, the study found that mental distress and physical inactivity are the most important determinants of smoking at the population level. Additionally, results showed that risky environmental conditions related to low income, such as food insecurity and violent crime, were closely associated with county-level smoking prevalence.

The study, “The association between tobacco retailer outlet density and prevalence of cigarette smoking in Virginia” was funded by the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth and published in Nicotine & Tobacco Research in August 2022.

The research team included three other researchers associated with Mason: Shuo-yu Lin, a Health Administration and Policy doctoral student; Weiyu Zhou, a doctoral student in the Department of Statistics; Ruixin Yang, Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Geoinformation Science, as well as J. Randy Koch from the Department of Psychology and the Center for the Study of Tobacco Products and Andrew J. Barnes from the Department of Health Behavior and Policy, both at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Topics

Social Determinants of Health

Tobacco Prevention

New Policy Study Focuses on Tobacco Prevention and Reduction in Virginia Youth

Anonymous — Thu, 13 Jan 2022 20:17:51 +0000

New Policy Study Focuses on Tobacco Prevention and Reduction in Virginia Youth Anonymous (not verified) Thu, 01/13/2022 - 15:17

In This Story

Hong Xue, PhD

New three-year study seeks to understand the effects of policy tools and prevention strategies on youth tobacco use

Youth smoking remains a significant public health problem in the U.S. and in Virginia. According to the Centers for Disease Control, in 2019, 22.5 percent of Virginia high school youth reported currently using any tobacco product, including e-cigarettes.

Hong Xue, PhD

Hong Xue, PhD, associate professor in the Department of Health Administration and Policy, is conducting a novel simulation modeling study of youth smoking and prevention on the effects of policy and prevention strategies on the use of conventional and e-cigarettes in Virginia adolescents.

Xue and his interdisciplinary research team including Co-investigator Dr. Xiaoquan Zhao, professor in Mason’s Department of Communication, will address regulatory actions, marketing influences, and communications related to youth tobacco prevention and control. The team will examine the effects of tobacco retail regulations, estimate the effects of fiscal policy tools on conventional and e-cigarettes, and test social media-based tobacco prevention strategies and evaluate the impact on tobacco use, knowledge, beliefs, and behavior in Virginia youth.

“Our findings will support the efforts to advance legislative issues in Virginia and at the federal level for smoking prevention and control,” says Xue. Research results will also inform public health and social media strategies aimed at youth.

This research is funded by a $450,000 grant from the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth. The research team includes faculty and experts from ��AV, Virginia Commonwealth University, the College of William and Mary, Georgetown University, and Georgia State University.

Topics

Child and Adolescent Health