Retailer experience during implementation of the flavoured tobacco product restriction in Boston, Massachusetts (n=353)
| N | % | |
| Reasons why retailer was not in compliance* (n=51) | ||
| Was not aware of policy | 2 | 3.9% |
| Disagreed with the policy | 1 | 2.0% |
| Distributor sent the products | 4 | 7.8% |
| Did not know the product was in violation | 37 | 72.5% |
| Unable to sell down stock | 5 | 9.8% |
| Do not know or other | 18 | 35.3% |
| Resources that helped retailers comply with regulation* (n=352) | ||
| Educational visit | 301 | 85.5% |
| Retailer FAQ | 15 | 4.3% |
| Flavoured product Guidance List (FPGL) | 219 | 62.2% |
| Information from my distributor(s) | 22 | 8.7% |
| Other | 5 | 1.4% |
| None of the above | 8 | 2.3% |
| Do not know | 34 | 9.7% |
| Challenges with compliance experienced in first 6 months after regulation* (n=326) | ||
| Did not have enough time to sell down stock | 97 | 29.8% |
| Distributor would not take back all of my flavoured products | 116 | 35.6% |
| Did not know which products I could or could not sell | 112 | 34.4% |
| Other | 18 | 5.5% |
| Do not know | 162 | 49.7% |
| What was done with shelf space previously occupied with flavoured tobacco products* (n=346) | ||
| Began carrying more or new non-flavoured tobacco products | 243 | 70.2% |
| Replaced with other non-tobacco products | 45 | 13.0% |
| Left space vacant | 24 | 6.9% |
| Other | 9 | 2.6% |
| Do not know | 34 | 9.8% |
| What the distributor did regarding flavoured tobacco products* (n=343) | ||
| Provided a product list of non-flavoured products that can be sold | 69 | 20.1% |
| Continue to promote and encourage me to sell products on the FPGL | 6 | 1.7% |
| Actively promote and encourage me to carry new flavoured products not yet on the FPGL | 4 | 1.2% |
| Other | 85 | 24.8% |
| Do not know | 184 | 53.6% |
| Distributor(s) changed retailer contracts (n=191) | ||
| Yes | 1 | 0.5% |
| No | 190 | 99.5% |
| In the past week, how often did customers come in and ask to purchase flavoured tobacco products on the FPGL (this does not include sweet or menthol-flavoured products)? (n=353) | ||
| A few times a day | 116 | 32.9% |
| A few times a week | 129 | 36.5% |
| Not at all | 97 | 27.5% |
| Do not know | 11 | 3.1% |
Retailers may not have answered every question asked during the follow-up data collection period. N’s represent the number of retailers who answered that particular survey question. Answers were drawn only from retailers part of the final analytic sample (n=353).
*Survey respondents had the option to choose multiple responses. Per cents do not add up to 100%.