Examining how changes in provincial policy on vape marketing impacted the distribution of vaping advertisements near secondary schools in London, Ontario.

OBJECTIVES: On January 1, 2020, the Government of Ontario passed a regulation banning vaping advertisements by retailers, apart from specialty shops. A motivation for this ban was to limit youth exposure to vaping advertisements. The primary goal of this research was to evaluate the impact of this ban on the number and density of vaping advertisements surrounding secondary schools. Additionally, we examined whether the number of vaping advertisements varied by school socio-demographic characteristics. METHODS: This study used a pre-post design. Audits were conducted December 2019 (pre-ban) and again January to February 2020 (post-ban), to identify vaping advertisements within 800 m surrounding secondary schools (n = 18) in London, Ontario. RESULTS: Prior to the ban, there were 266 vaping advertisements within 800 m of secondary schools. After the ban, this was reduced to 58, a 78.2% reduction. The mean number of vaping advertisements surrounding schools significantly decreased from 18.1 before the ban to 3.6 after the ban (p < 0.001). A significant positive correlation was found, prior to the ban, between the number of vaping advertisements surrounding schools and school-level residential instability (r = 0.42, p = 0.02). After the ban, no significant correlations were found between the number of vaping advertisements and school socio-demographic characteristics. CONCLUSION: The provincial ban of vaping advertisements in select retail settings significantly reduced the number of vaping advertisements in the areas surrounding secondary schools in London, Ontario. The ban also reduced socio-demographic inequities in youths' potential exposure to marketing of vaping products. Continued monitoring of the geographic accessibility and promotion of vaping products is warranted.

RéSUMé: OBJECTIFS: Le 1er janvier 2020, le gouvernement de l'Ontario adoptait un règlement interdisant les annonces publicitaires sur le vapotage dans les magasins de détail, sauf dans les boutiques spécialisées. L'une des raisons de cette interdiction était de limiter l'exposition des jeunes à la publicité sur le vapotage. Notre étude visait principalement à évaluer les incidences de l'interdiction sur le nombre et la densité des annonces publicitaires sur le vapotage autour des écoles secondaires. Nous avons aussi cherché à déterminer si le nombre d'annonces publicitaires sur le vapotage variait selon le profil sociodémographique des écoles. MéTHODE: Un protocole avant-après été utilisé pour cette étude. Des audits ont été menés en décembre 2019 (avant l'interdiction), puis de nouveau en janvier et février 2020 (après l'interdiction) pour dénombrer les annonces publicitaires sur le vapotage dans un rayon de 800 m des écoles secondaires (n = 18) de London, en Ontario. RéSULTATS: Avant l'interdiction, il y avait 266 annonces publicitaires sur le vapotage dans un rayon de 800 m des écoles secondaires. Après l'interdiction, ce nombre n'était plus que de 58, soit une baisse de 78,2 %. Le nombre moyen d'annonces publicitaires sur le vapotage autour des écoles a diminué de façon significative, passant de 18,1 avant l'interdiction à 3,6 après (p < 0,001). Une corrélation positive significative a été observée, avant l'interdiction, entre le nombre d'annonces publicitaires sur le vapotage autour des écoles et l'instabilité résidentielle au niveau des écoles (r = 0,42, p = 0,02). Après l'interdiction, aucune corrélation significative n'a été observée entre le nombre d'annonces publicitaires sur le vapotage et le profil sociodémographique des écoles. CONCLUSIONS: L'interdiction provinciale des annonces publicitaires sur le vapotage dans certains magasins de détail a considérablement réduit le nombre de ces annonces dans les environs des écoles secondaires de London, en Ontario. L'interdiction a aussi réduit les iniquités sociodémographiques de l'exposition potentielle des jeunes au marketing des produits de vapotage. Il est justifié d'assurer une surveillance continue de l'accessibilité géographique et de la promotion des produits de vapotage.

Development of a Teen-Informed Coding Tool to Measure the Power of Food Advertisements.

The food-related information environment, comprised of food and beverage advertising within one's surroundings, is a growing concern for adolescent health given that food marketing disproportionately targets adolescents. Despite strong public interest concerning the effects of food marketing on child health, there is limited evidence focused on outdoor food advertising in relation to teenage diets, food purchasing, and perceptions. Further, limited research has considered both the exposure to and influence of such advertisements. This study used a novel multi-method approach to identify and quantify the features of outdoor food and beverage advertisements that are most effective at drawing teenagers into retail food establishments. An environmental audit of outdoor advertisements and consultations with youth were used to: (1) identify teen-directed food marketing techniques; (2) validate and weigh the power of individual advertising elements; and, (3) develop a teen-informed coding tool to measure the power of food-related advertisements. Results indicate that marketing power is a function of the presence and size of teen-directed advertisement features, and the relative nature of each feature is an important consideration. This study offers a quantitative measurement tool for food environment research and urges policymakers to consider teen-directed marketing when creating healthy communities.

Conceptualizing Youth Participation in Children's Health Research: Insights from a Youth-Driven Process for Developing a Youth Advisory Council.

Given the power asymmetries between adults and young people, youth involvement in research is often at risk of tokenism. While many disciplines have seen a shift from conducting research on youth to conducting research with and for youth, engaging children and teens in research remains fraught with conceptual, methodological, and practical challenges. Arnstein's foundational Ladder of Participation has been adapted in novel ways in youth research, but in this paper, we present a new rendering: a 'rope ladder.' This concept came out of our youth-driven planning process to develop a Youth Advisory Council for the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, an interdisciplinary research laboratory focused on developing healthy communities for young people. As opposed to a traditional ladder, composed of rigid material and maintaining a static position, the key innovation of our concept is that it integrates a greater degree of flexibility and mobility by allowing dynamic movement beyond a 2D vertical plane. At the same time, the pliable nature of the rope makes it both responsive and susceptible to exogenous forces. We argue that involving youth in the design of their own participatory framework reveals dimensions of participation that are important to youth, which may not be captured by the existing participatory models.