Tobacco outlet density and converted versus native non-daily cigarette use in a national US sample

Objective Investigate whether non-daily smokers’ (NDS) cigarette price and purchase preferences, recent cessation attempts, and current intentions to quit are associated with the density of the retail cigarette product landscape surrounding their residential address. Participants Cross-sectional assessment of N=904 converted NDS (CNDS). who previously smoked every day, and N=297 native NDS (NNDS) who only smoked non-daily, drawn from a national panel. Outcome measures Kernel density estimation was used to generate a nationwide probability surface of tobacco outlets linked to participants’ residential ZIP code. Hierarchically nested log-linear models were compared to evaluate associations between outlet density, non-daily use patterns, price sensitivity and quit intentions. Results Overall, NDS in ZIP codes with greater outlet density were less likely than NDS in ZIP codes with lower outlet density to hold 6-month quit intentions when they also reported that price affected use patterns (G²=66.1, p<0.001) and purchase locations (G²=85.2, p<0.001). CNDS were more likely than NNDS to reside in ZIP codes with higher outlet density (G²=322.0, p<0.001). Compared with CNDS in ZIP codes with lower outlet density, CNDS in high-density ZIP codes were more likely to report that price influenced the amount they smoke (G²=43.9, p<0.001), and were more likely to look for better prices (G²=59.3, p<0.001). NDS residing in high-density ZIP codes were not more likely to report that price affected their cigarette brand choice compared with those in ZIP codes with lower density. Conclusions This paper provides initial evidence that the point-of-sale cigarette environment may be differentially associated with the maintenance of CNDS versus NNDS patterns. Future research should investigate how tobacco control efforts can be optimised to both promote cessation and curb the rising tide of non-daily smoking in the USA.