Cigarette Display Regulation at Point Of Sales (POS) and its Impact on Cigarette Sales

OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the impact of cigarette display settings on cigarette sales in the stores in Semarang City. METHODS: The research was conducted in August-October 2020 using a quasi-experimental study approach. Cigarette displays were installed in three ways (1) the cigarette displays were opened for 35 days in 5 stores, (2) the cigarettes displays were covered by a piece of fabric for a pre-intervention and intervention periods of 15 and 30 days respectively, in five stores; and (3) the cigarette displays were hidden for a pre -intervention and intervention periods of 15 and 30 days respectively, at three stores. Cigarette sales were recorded based on the number of packs or sticks sold per day. The authors would visit the stores every two or three days without prior notification to the store owner to check the cigarette displays and record the data. The sales data was descriptively evaluated using paired t-test with a 95% confidence level. RESULTS: The results showed that one hidden cigarette display store (R3-1) experienced a significant decrease in sales, three hidden/covered display stores had an insignificant decrease in cigarette sales and four hidden/covered display stores did not have any decline in cigarette sales. The mean decline in cigarette consumption in stores was -1.4 packs/day. Based on the analysis of sales per day and the pre/post intervention paired, the stores with a covered display had no difference in the pre/post intervention sales, while the stores with hidden displays showed differences in their cigarette sales. CONCLUSION: Covered displays did not affect cigarette sales, while stores with hidden displays showed differences in sales.