Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40817627›Full record

ArticleThe Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association2025

Tobacco retailer density and rurality across four US states: California, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Ohio.

Emerson Webb, Peter F Craigmile, Meghan E Morean, Grace Kong, Joseph G L Lee, Ryan J Martin, Jessica Barrington-Trimis, Rui Qiang, Vitoria Borges Spinola, Megan E Roberts

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
4citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

4 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
  4. Tobacco retailer density and rurality across four US states: California, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Ohio.The Journal of rural health : official journal of the American Rural Health Association and the National Rural Health Care Association · 2025
    Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Emerson WebbDepartment of Statistics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Peter F CraigmileDepartment of Mathematics and Statistics, Hunter College, CUNY, New York, New York, USA.
Meghan E MoreanDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Grace KongDepartment of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Joseph G L LeeDivision of Public Health Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA.
Ryan J MartinCollege of Health and Human Performance, East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina, USA.
Jessica Barrington-TrimisKeck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Rui QiangDepartment of Statistics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Vitoria Borges SpinolaCollege of Public Health, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.
Megan E RobertsCollege of Public Health, Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, USA.

Funding

Modeling the impact of age restricted in-person location policies for youth tobacco useR01CA273206 · NCI · OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY · PI Megan Eleanor Roberts · 2023 to 2026
$2.5M
National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health R01CA273206NCI NIH HHS R01 CA273206
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

purposeResearch has demonstrated many types of disparities in tobacco retailer density (TRD), but these analyses often fail to explore rural disparities. Given the substantial burden of rural tobacco use in the USA, this is a critical gap. The purpose of the present study was to estimate rural disparities in TRD across four US states.

methodsFor the states of California, Connecticut, North Carolina, and Ohio, we used spatial statistical methods to model per capita TRD at the census tract level. Rurality was defined by the US Department of Agriculture Rural-Uran Commuting Area (RUCA) codes and categorized into Metropolitan, Micropolitan, Small Town, and Rural.

findingsTobacco retailer count was highest in California (22,533), but TRD was highest in Connecticut (1.23 retailers per 1000 residents). In models for California, North Carolina, and Ohio (but not Connecticut), there was an association between rurality and TRD, such that rural census tracts had greater TRD than metropolitan census tracts. Micropolitan and small town (vs. metropolitan) census tracts also had greater TRD, although the association was not as strong. Models further showed associations between TRD and census tract poverty, racial and ethnic composition, and Appalachian designation.

conclusionsAlthough there are notable state-level differences, TRD is clearly associated with rurality. Given the literature on the impacts of living in tobacco-retailer-dense areas, rural disparities in TRD likely contribute to rural disparities in tobacco use. There is a need for further policies in rural areas of the USA that address the tobacco retailer environment.

Indexed as

CommerceRural PopulationTobacco ProductsCaliforniaConnecticutHumansNorth CarolinaOhiorural healthtobacco retailer densitytobacco retailer environment

Identifiers

PMID40817627
PMCPMC12357071

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.