Tobacco companies call them “replacement smokers.” You call them your children. Either way, area kids are being targeted by cigarette makers with a massive amount of advertising in local stores according to a survey released today by Tri-County Tobacco Free Programs, the Reality Check Program and the American Cancer Society. Stores were randomly selected from a list of retailers licensed to sell tobacco in Allegany, Cattaraugus, and Chautauqua counties and 21 stores were visited during the month of October. Key findings of the Tri-county observational survey, released as part of the community education effort include: 86 percent of stores featured tobacco product displays behind the cash register. 38 percent of tobacco ads appeared near toys and/or candy. 98 percent of stores surveyed contained interior tobacco ads Research in the U.S. and abroad suggests that exposure … Read entire article »