Point of sale tobacco advertising compliance with legislation in 3 large cities in Argentina

Background Since 2011, tobacco marketing in Argentina is banned through traditional channels. However, marketing at the point of sale (PoS) is allowed with only few limitations. PoS are currently the primary venue where youth are exposed to marketing of tobacco products. Our objective was to assess the compliance with the PoS legislation among retailers located near assess secondary schools in Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Tucumán. Methods During 2016 a survey was conducted among all the retailers within 300 m of a convenience sample of 33 secondary schools in Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Tucumán. We assessed the compliance with the seven points imposed by the Tobacco Control National Law regarding PoS. An index was created with these seven items and dichotomized into low compliance (4 or more violations) and high (3 violations or less). Store type, distance from the school, city, marketing of flavoured cigarettes and alcoholic beverages were also evaluated. The association between potential predictors of noncompliance was investigated by calculating crude and adjusted OR using a logistic regression controlled by covariates. Results Of the 340 stores surveyed, 190 (55.88%) were kiosks, 84 (24.71%) were small convenience stores, 46 (13.53%) supermarket and 20 (5.88%) others. Overall, 217 (63.82%) of the PoS had low compliance. Most, 87.35%, had at least one infraction. The three most common were the failure to display a "prohibition of sale to minors"sign, 290 (85.29%), to have more than one advertising sign, 208 (61.18%) and the sale single cigarette 167 (49.12%). Buenos Aires (the capital city) was the place with more violations, 48.82%. The strongest predictors of low compliance were marketing of flavoured cigarettes (OR=3.78, 95%IC 1.97-7.24) and alcohols beverages (OR=1.25, 95%IC 1.12- 1.51).   OR 95% IC AOR 95% IC City: Bs. Aires Córdoba Tucumán 9.52 0.31 0.23 5.57 - 16.28 0.18 - 0.52 0.14 - 0.39 1 0.13* 0.28* 0.06 - 0.25 0.14 - 0.58 Alcohol marketing 1.16 1.09 - 1.29 1.25* 1.12 - 1.51 Flavored cigarette marketing 3.93 2.39 - 6.45 3.78* 1.97 - 7.24 *