Associations between socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of ZIP codes and the availability of tobacco products

Objective: To examine associations between tobacco product availability and demographic and socioeconomic characteristics in ZIP codes. Introduction: The awareness of e-cigarette use has been increasing in U.S. population since its introduction in market. Research supports that female gender, less education population, lower income, and racial and ethnic minority status are associated with electronic cigarette use. It is important to understand the strategies employed by the cigarette retailers to attract the users in order to understand these disparities in use. Methods and Materials: We constructed a database using a variety of data sources. Demographic and economic data were obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2008-2012 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. Data on number of licensed tobacco retailers was identified retrieved from appropriate government agency within each state. Data on electronic cigarette retail availability was gathered from websites maintained by manufacturers. Results: Regression models were constructed to examine associations between the retail availability of tobacco products and the socioeconomic and demographic characteristics of ZIP codes. A number of socioeconomic and demographic variables were associated with the number of tobacco outlets, after adjusting for population size of ZIP codes. Conclusion: Understanding the geographic distribution of tobacco and electronic cigarette retailers is important to develop effective policies to control use and reduce/eliminate health disparities. To the investigators’ knowledge, this is the first known study to examine the retail availability of electronic cigarettes by the demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of populations.