For teens and tobacco, out of sight might mean out of mind

By Lisa Rapaport (Reuters Health) - - Keeping tobacco products out of sight in convenience stores may make teens less likely to smoke, a U.S. study suggests. To test the power of store displays to sway adolescent smoking habits, researchers created three different experimental convenience stores, sent teens shopping without telling them the true purpose of the trip, then asked afterward whether the teens thought they might try cigarettes any time soon. Teens who shopped in stores where tobacco displays were kept out of sight were 11 percent less susceptible to the idea of smoking in the future than their peers who saw cigarettes prominently displayed behind the cashier, an array known as a “power wall” in the world of retailing.