Alcohol Retail Report

In 2018, the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) conducted the Tobacco and Alcohol Retail Assessment, a statewide assessment of tobacco and alcohol advertising, marketing and promotion in locations where people shop daily. The assessment's goal is to shed light on the techniques the alcohol and tobacco industries use in retail locations.

States have a long history of examining the tobacco retail environment and industry tactics at point of sale. Oregon is one of the first states to include alcohol into the existing tobacco retail environment assessment. The alcohol assessment was co-developed in late 2017 by a workgroup that included partners from local Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention and Education Programs (ADPEP) and OHA staff.  Assessment questions related to advertising, flavors and sponsorship questions provide a baseline for future assessments.

OHA trained and partnered with teams of local health department staff, nonprofit organizations, tribes and community volunteers to implement the new alcohol assessment tool. These teams visited retailers that sold tobacco and were accessible to youth under 18. The retail assessment led to new collaborations between OHA Tobacco Prevention and Education Program (TPEP) and OHA Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Education and Program (ADPEP), as well as prevention coalition members, health department staff, volunteers, and youth.

The retail environment has a significant impact on community health. Reducing the availability of unhealthy substances, like alcohol, at the consumers point of exposure and access - the retail environment, is important for reducing excessive alcohol use and related harms.