Examining the implementation of court-ordered cigarette ‘corrective statements’ displayed in a regional sample of US tobacco retailers

INTRODUCTION: In 2022, a US Federal District Court ordered cigarette companies to display 'corrective statements' in over 200 000 tobacco retailers to remediate years of consumer fraud. This study conducted store assessments in a sample of affected retailers in New York City and New Jersey to document implementation features and differences by store type and community characteristics. METHODS: Addresses of retailers required to display statements were geocoded and spatially joined with US Census Zip Code Tabulation Areas. Within nine counties, 627 retailers were randomly sampled and visited for inperson assessments between October 2024 and May 2025 to document sign presence, number and characteristics (eg, size, location, obstruction). Multilevel logistic regressions measured differences by store type and zip code demographics (in quartiles). RESULTS: Signage display was generally high (92.2%), but lower in non-chain convenience stores (91.4%; OR: 0.33 (0.13, 0.84)) and smoke/vape shops (84%; OR: 0.14 (0.05, 0.43)) versus chain convenience stores (97.2%), which also displayed a higher volume of signs. Stores in zip codes with the highest percentage of non-Hispanic Black residents (Q4) had significantly lower display rates (88.6%; OR: 0.22 (0.06, 0.77)) versus Q1 (96.4%). Among 906 coded signs, 63.5% were the larger format, 40.3% were located above the tobacco display, 36.6% were near the exterior entrance and 6.1% were obstructed, indicating high visibility. CONCLUSIONS: Differences in corrective statement display and volume may shape exposure opportunities, influencing population impacts. Future research should examine whether consumers notice and process these messages in real-world conditions, critical precursors to knowledge or behavioural change.