Within these five zip codes, the average failure rate was 29.5% (the same as the overall sample), with a standard deviation of 7%.  Only one of the five zip codes (33073) had a significantly lower failure rate of 16.7%.

Public policy may have played a role in the failure rate in these communities.  Coral Springs and Parkland have restrictions on street advertising.  As a result, most stores in this survey had limited outdoor advertising, which lowered their total scores.  A follow-up survey in adjacent communities that do not have such advertising restrictions would be interesting to see if the failure rates would be higher.

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There are a few trends worth noting.
 
The high failure rate in convenience-type stores is not a fluke; it shows that the tobacco industry focuses its efforts on the stores that teenagers are likely to shop in.  In fact, 75% of all teenagers shop in a convenience store at least once each week.  Frequently, they shop in these stores without adult supervision on their way home from school.

Liquor stores actually have a lower failure rate than you might otherwise expect.  This is a reflection of the fact that teenagers are not likely to shop in liquor stores alone, so the tobacco industry feels no need to waste a lot of money on tobacco ads in these locations.

As expected, pharmacies and drug stores received high grades overall.  However, it is disturbing to see that members of the health care industry still sell tobacco at the retail level.  More disturbing is that tobacco products frequently sit on shelves alongside of over-the-counter treatments for nicotine addiction.

Results by Zip Code

76% of the stores in the study were located in Coral Springs, Florida.  Several other cities made up the remaining 24%.  The smaller numbers of stores in the other cities made it difficult to see accurate trends within those communities.

Instead, the data was analyzed using each store’s Zip Code.  90% of the stores fell within five distinct zip codes. Because the data was more evenly distributed by zip code than by city, it revealed some interesting trends.

As Part of Kick Buts Day 2007, students taking a Health Class Elective at Westglades Middle School in Parkland, Florida conducted a tobacco-advertising survey in retail stores in their community.

Prior to the start of the survey, Dr. Barry Hummel spent one class period showing the students the correct method for using the StoreALERT Report Card.  Dr..Hummel showed numerous examples of the types of advertising and marketing gimmicks that might be found in retail outlets.  The instruction was designed to insure consistent results among the students, adding to the validity of the results.

Next, a Google search was conducted to identify certain retail stores within a five-mile radius of the school.  The types of stores included fell into the following categories:  convenience stores, gas stations, combined convenience store/gas stations, grocery stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, drug stores, liquor stores, and tobacco stores.  In all, 108 stores were identified within five miles of the campus during the Google search.

Over a four-week period, the students surveyed the identified stores.  During that time, they managed to survey 95% of the stores within three miles of Westglades Middle School, and 75% of the stores within 5 miles of the campus.  After turning in the surveys, Dr. Hummel randomly visited stores to get a sense of the accuracy of the results; in addition, he visited several businesses where the scoring seemed to fall outside of normal range for that type of store, correcting any discrepancies.

Overall, 29.5% of the stores that were surveyed received a failing grade.  This means that they had more than 10 advertisements or marketing gimmicks per cash register!

Results by Type of Store

Of the stores surveyed, 49% were convenience stores, gas stations, or combined convenience store/gas stations.  This is especially relevant, as 75% of teenagers visit a convenience store at least once each week.

An additional 22% were either larger pharmacies (CVS, Walgreens), or smaller drug stores.  20% were either small grocery stores, or large supermarkets.  8% were liquor stores.  Only one tobacco shop was surveyed, and, as you might expect, it failed.  Here is how the other stores were graded by categories: