The Inequitable Distribution of Tobacco Outlet Density: The Role of Income in Two Black Mid-Atlantic Geopolitical Areas

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Public Health
• Personal Author:
  Fakunle, David O. ; Milam, Adam J. ; Furr-Holden, C. Debra M. ; Butler, James ; Thorpe, Roland J. ; LaVeist, Thomas A.
• Description:
  Introduction
  
  Studies have shown that communities with higher concentrations of low-income racial and ethnic minorities correlate with a greater presence of tobacco outlets. Community-level income has consistently been among the strongest predictors of tobacco outlet density. This study analyzes two Maryland geopolitical areas with similar racial concentrations yet differing income levels in an attempt to disentangle the race-income relationship with tobacco outlet density.
  
  Study Design
  
  In this cross-sectional examination of tobacco outlet and census tract-level sociodemographic data, Baltimore City, Maryland and Prince George's County, Maryland were geocoded to determine tobacco outlet density.
  
  Methods
  
  Tobacco outlet density was defined as the mean number of tobacco outlets per 1,000 persons per census tract. Comparisons of tobacco outlet density and sociodemographic variables were analyzed via two-sample t-tests, and the direct effect of sociodemographic variables on tobacco outlet density for each area was analyzed via spatial lag regressions.
  
  Results
  
  Prince George's County, the area with the higher income level ($77,190 vs. $43,571), has a significantly lower tobacco outlet density than Baltimore City (p < .001). Prince George's County has a 67.5% Black population and an average of 3.94 tobacco outlets per 1,000 persons per tract. By contrast, Baltimore City has a 65.3% Black population and an average of 7.95 tobacco outlets per 1,000 persons per tract. Spatial lag regression model results indicate an inverse relationship between income and tobacco outlet density in Baltimore City and Prince George's County (β = -0.03, p < 0.01 β -0.01, p = 0.02, respectively), and a significant interaction term indicating a greater magnitude in the relationship between income and tobacco outlet density in Baltimore City (β = -0.05, p < 0.01).
  
  Conclusion
  
  Results suggest that higher socioeconomic status, even in primarily underrepresented racial and ethnic geopolitical areas, is linked to lower tobacco outlet density.
  
  
• Subjects:
  Black Or African American Commerce Cross-Sectional Studies Humans Residence Characteristics Tobacco Products
• Source:
  Public Health. 136:35-40.
• Pubmed ID:
  27076440
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC4930734
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Funding:
  K01 CA134939/CA/NCI NIH HHS/United States ; P60 MD000214/MD/NIMHD NIH HHS/United States ; T32 DA007292/DA/NIDA NIH HHS/United States ; U01 CE001954/CE/NCIPC CDC HHS/United States
• Place as Subject:
  Maryland
• Volume:
  136
• Collection(s):
  CDC Public Access
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:f8ef889d643ba9ae1654fbc71bebae22de466bc1294b49a6fc8e01d8cecbd4c1
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/42130/cdc_42130_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 114.28 KB ]