Exploring the retail availability, display, and marketing of new nicotine products in Scotland

A mixed-method study of retailers and secondary school-aged adolescents

About

The study is a multimethod study designed to generate national data on the retail availability and sales of New Nicotine Products (NPPs), combined with a focused examination of retail practices and young people’s exposure in four school catchment communities across Scotland. This collaborative study involves teams at the University of Stirling, University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Centre for Social Research.

The Scottish Centre for Social Research is leading on qualitative research in schools with young people and school staff to explore young people’s knowledge, awareness of, access to and use of NNPs.

The study provides urgently needed, high-quality, evidence on the availability, display, and marketing of NNPs in retailers in Scotland, including key insight from young people and school teaching staff, to inform potential policy measures. The Tobacco and Vapes Bill is currently progressing through UK Parliament, giving the government power to restrict the retail availability, marketing and display of NNPs.

Methodology

New Nicotine Products in Schools

The Scottish Centre for Social Research is leading on research to explore 14–16-year olds’ knowledge, awareness of, access to and use of New Nicotine Products, through focus group with third year (S3, aged 14-15 years) and fourth year (S4, aged 15-16 years) pupils with experience of, or at risk of, vaping. Interviews were also conducted with school staff in the same four schools.

Mapping of retail outlets and sales data

The research team at the University of Edinburgh is using data from data from the Register of Tobacco and Nicotine Vapour Product Retailers and sales data on all nicotine-related sales from the Retail Data Partnership (TRDP) from around 300 convenience stores across Scotland to explore changes in the availability of NNPs retailing at the national level over the past 9 years (2017-25) in Scotland and changes in the sales of NNPs in smaller retailers across Scotland between 2017 and 2024.

Advertising and marketing audit of nicotine retail outlets

The research team at the University of Stirling is conducting an advertising and marketing audit involving a content analysis of the retail trade press, a retailer panel comprising interviews and observations with a purposive sample of retailers and discreet observations of the retail environment in a purposive sample of stores across the four study communities to explore how NNPs are currently displayed, merchandised, and marketed in retailers.