GRIDLEY, CA  (MPG) – Research shows that the Hispanic/Latino populations is often the target of menthol and flavored tobacco products. These findings are from the 2019 Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community campaign which looks at the availability and marketing of tobacco products, alcohol, condoms and healthy and unhealthy food options in California stores.

Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community is a statewide campaign formed by tobacco prevention, nutrition, alcohol abuse prevention and sexually transmitted disease prevention partners collaborating to improve the health of Californians. The campaign is designed to raise awareness of how communities, and specifically youth, are negatively impacted by the saturation of unhealthy products and product marketing in the retail environment.

The California Health Collaborative’s Si Se Puede supported Butte County Public Health in conducting surveys in Gridley. Gridley currently has 14 retailers that sell tobacco.  With a 47.8% Hispanic/Latino population, and with 26.2% of residents under that age of 21, it is vital that we have this data in order to improve the health risks in the community of Gridley.

The 2019 survey found the following for Butte County: 89.5% of stores near schools have flavored tobacco products; 52.3% of stores have single little cigars/cigarillos; 96.1% of stores sell menthol cigarettes; And 64.1% of stores sell vaping products compared to the 54.7% CA State average.

Comparing Healthy Store data to Hispanic/Latino specific data available from the CA Tobacco Control program finds: Hispanic/Latino adult tobacco use prevalence (all tobacco products) is 19.0% and Hispanic/Latino youth tobacco use prevalence (all tobacco products) is 10.3%; There are on average 103.3 stores selling tobacco per 100,000 residents in Hispanic/Latino areas compared to 78 stores for the general population; The average price for a single flavored little cigar/cigarillo is $0.91 in Hispanic/Latino areas; and 90.5% of stores in Hispanic/Latino areas sell menthol cigarettes.

For state and county- specific data and more information on Healthy Stores for a Healthy Community, please visit www.healthystoreshealthycommunity.com. For more information regarding Si Se Puede contact Esther Craig at [email protected].