Assessment of heated tobacco products in Cairo and Giza at points of sale: Availability, advertisement, and promotion.

Introduction: Heated tobacco products (HTPs) are readily available at diverse points of sale (POS) in Egypt. This study aims to assess these advertisements and promotions to provide evidence for policymakers on the need for tobacco control law amendments and enforcement in Egypt.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted in Cairo and Giza governorates in 2022 through a convenience sample to collect data from 150 POS. The study's data collection tools assessed the availability, display, advertisement, and promotion of HTP at each site.

Results: Price promotions were available at 18% of the visited sites, ranging between bundles and promo code discounts; 75% of the points of sale had some type of advertisement, either inside (67.3%) or outside (36%), stating that HTP are less harmful than traditional cigarettes because they do not burn. HTP display was commonly around the cashier area (87.3%), followed by candy and gum (80.7%) or soda, ice cream, or coffee machines (66%).

Conclusions: The reported advertisement and promotion of HTP at POS and their sale to minors violate the National Tobacco Control Law 52/1981. These violations risk the health of the youth. We call on policymakers to explicitly ban all sorts of advertisement and promotion of tobacco products at POS, and enforce the ban of sale to minors (under 18 years).