NOTTINGHAM, England, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- British researchers say putting tobacco out of sight in shops could help change attitudes toward smoking.
Researchers at the University of Nottingham in England have linked removal of tobacco displays in the Republic of Ireland to fewer young people believing smoking was widespread in their age-group -- 46 percent after removal versus 62 percent before.
The researchers also showed support for putting tobacco out of sight rose from 58 percent before removal to 66 percent after.
The study, published in the journal Tobacco Control, also found fewer teens could recall having seen tobacco displays -- 22 percent versus 81 percent before the displays were yanked.
"Our research shows that removing point of sale displays of tobacco has a measurable impact on how young people think about tobacco, and helps underline that they are not 'normal consumer products,'" lead researcher Ann McNeill says in a statement. "The law is popular among adults, even adult smokers."
In a related study, McNeill and colleagues showed taking tobacco displays down did not accelerate the loss of income for retailers.
"As expected we did not see any significant change in sales following the implementation of the legislation beyond the trend of falling sales that already exists," McNeill says.
