Tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship ban enforcement index at sales points in Panama, 2017.

Introduction: We assess the tobacco advertisement, promotion and sponsorship (TAPS) ban enforcement in sales points in Panama in 2017.

Methods: A nationwide observational survey to assess TAPS ban enforcement in sales points was conducted and involved retail sale in non-specialized stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating according to the International Standard Industrial Classification of All Economic Activities Rev. 4. A TAPS ban enforcement index was developed from factorial analysis by principal component with a polychoric correlation matrix to calculate the mean national index value.

Results: The national TAPS ban enforcement index value was found to be 3.03. The index value in sales points according to the tobacco products advertisement was 1.98, which was significantly lower where the advertisement was present and 3.09 where it was absent (t=7.57, p<0.05). Each of the three health regions corresponding to Indigenous Territories had an index below the national mean: Emberá-Wounáan (2.52), Guna-Yala (2.65), and Ngäbe-Buglé (2.91). Similar findings were observed among health regions with a west national border: Chiriquí (2.80) and Bocas Del Toro (2.93). On the other hand, the top indices were observed in Panama Metro (3.25), Darién (3.53) and Coclé (3.63).

Conclusions: There is a high level of enforcement of the TAPS ban as a consequence of the full implementation of the FCTC as a law in Panama. However, indigenous territories and west national border areas had the lowest TAPS ban enforcement, making these populations vulnerable. A fertile ground for future research includes the identification of possible vulnerable targets for tobacco products advertisement, particularly in urban areas.