Understanding How Tobacco Retailers Shape Smoking Behavior
How do the places we go and things we see influence the way we use our brains? For example, do neural responses to point-of-sale tobacco (POST) cues change as a function of real-world exposure to those cues over time?
The Communication Neuroscience Lab at the University of Pennsylvania conducted a randomized controlled trial using real-world geolocation tracking, ecological momentary assessments, and neuroimaging to examine how exposure to tobacco retailers affects cigarette craving and smoking in daily life.
This study examines whether exposure to point-of-sale tobacco marketing affects smoking behavior, experiences of craving, and neural reactivity in response to different types of smoking cues, including pictures of retail outlets. If it is the case that lower exposure to point of sale tobacco marketing decreases smoking behavior, this emphasizes the importance of further regulation of retail advertising for tobacco. Examination of neural responses and craving in response to smoking cues will further provide evidence for a biological mechanism through which such effects take hold.
Background
Cigarette smoking accounts for 1 in 5 deaths annually in the U.S. Exposure to tobacco retail has been linked to adverse smoking outcomes, but research utilizing naturalistic and causal approaches to quantify these effects in the real world remains relatively sparse.
To address this, we used ecological momentary assessment, geolocation tracking, and neuroimaging to assess smoking outcomes in the real world, and conducted a randomized controlled trial focused on the effects of exposure to tobacco retail.
Objectives
Our study addresses three key research questions:
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Association: Examine within-person associations between real-world tobacco retail exposure and cigarette craving/smoking
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Causation: Establish causal effects of real-world tobacco retail exposure through a randomized controlled trial
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Mechanism: Investigate neural cue reactivity as a mechanism for real-world tobacco retail effects
Explore the Study
External Resources
University of Pennsylvania
Annenberg School for Communication & Annenberg Public Policy Center