Footnotes

• X @AmandaYKong

• Presented at An earlier version of this manuscript was presented at the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco Annual Meeting in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 21 March 2024.

• Contributors JGLL, MH, AYK, CA and CDD contributed to study design. JGLL implemented the study in Pitt County. JGLL and ECR analysed and interpreted data. JGLL and ECR wrote the letter with input from the study team. All authors approved the submission of the letter.

• Funding This study was funded by National Cancer Institute (P30CA225520, R01CA231139) and Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (STCST00400_FY24)

• Disclaimer The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.

• Competing interests AYK serves as a paid expert consultant in litigation against the tobacco industry. JGLL holds a royalty interest in tobacco retailer mapping system owned and licensed by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The software was not used in this research. All other authors report no competing interests.

• Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.