Youth Exposure to Tobacco Retail in Idaho

Idaho is home to over 800 K-12 public and private schools serving over 300,000 students. There are over 1,600 tobacco retailers across Idaho. This work examines how the density and proximity of tobacco retail environments intersect with K-12 students' daily lives. This evaluation does not explore associations between retail tobacco exposure and tobacco use among youth or adults.

Measuring tobacco retail density and proximity to Idaho youth is important; it is well documented that increased exposure to tobacco products, marketing, and promotions is associated with youth tobacco experimentation and future use. Understanding youth tobacco retail exposure helps guide support for health education and actions to limit exposure to tobacco retail products and marketing.

References: (Chaitan et al., 2025; Hawkins, et al., 2025; Lee et al., 2022)
Legend:   School    Tobacco Retailer

Tobacco Retail Density by County

Overall, there are 0.83 tobacco retailers per 1,000 people in Idaho. Following national data trends, tobacco retail density is higher in rural Idaho counties.

The emerging standard being used to limit youth exposure to tobacco advertising and promotion is 1 retailer per 1,000 to 2,000 residents. This standard is used to set a cap on the number of licenses issued to new tobacco retailers.

On the map, purple indicates relatively low retail density, yellow indicates moderate density, and orange indicates statistically high retail density.

Click on a county to see details.

References: (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2019; Mills et al., 2022)

Tobacco Retail Density by School District

Displaying tobacco retail density per 1,000 people by school district provides a more detailed picture of youth tobacco exposure. In general, students in rural and smaller school districts have greater tobacco retail exposure.

Areas with densities with over 2-3 tobacco retailers per 1,000 people are often cited as examples of tobacco swamps, or areas with extreme retailer concentration.

On the map, purple indicates relatively low retail density, yellow indicates moderate density, and orange indicates statistically high retail density.

Click on a district to see details.

References: (Combs, et al., 2022; Gaiha, et al., 2025; Webb, et al., 2025)

Retail Proximity

This work describes youth 'tobacco exposure zones' as areas within a 1,000-foot radius of a tobacco retailer, a distance commonly used to measure youth proximity to tobacco retail.

Tobacco exposure zones are indicated by grey circles on the map. The magenta circles represent schools that lie within a tobacco exposure zone.

Notice the proximity of schools to tobacco retail in Pocatello. Many of these retailers are convenience stores and are along daily routes to school. Convenience stores often serve as community hubs in rural areas. Nationwide, nearly half (47.5%) of youth visit convenience stores at least once a week, and 14.9% visit daily for snacks and drinks. Convenience store visits are higher among youth living in rural areas and in areas of economic deprivation.

Also notice the dense clustering of tobacco retail in central areas of Pocatello, which increases competitive pricing and creates advertising hotspots.

References: (Sanders-Jackson et al., 2015; Wagoner et al., 2020)

Legend:   Tobacco exposure zone
School    School within 1,000 ft of tobacco retailer

Student Exposure to Tobacco Retail by School District

Idaho's public school districts vary dramatically in size, student population, and geographic setting. This map shows district boundaries across the state.

Warmer colors (oranges/reds) on the map indicate higher percentages of students exposed to tobacco retail within the district. These are typically rural areas, with fewer schools and lower populations.

Analyzing exposure at the district level helps identify which educational communities face the greatest challenges from nearby tobacco retail.

Click on a district to see details.

Household Tobacco Spending by County

The map displays average annual household spending on tobacco products across Idaho counties. Darker shades indicate higher spending levels. Click on a county to see details.

This metric reveals geographic patterns in tobacco consumption and helps identify communities where youth may face higher exposure to tobacco use in their households and neighborhoods.

Spending ranges from $316 to $621 per household annually

Median Income by County

This map displays median household income by county. The lightest shades indicate lower income levels and the darker shades indicate higher income levels.

Median household income is one of the strongest predictors of tobacco outlet density. Lower median household income is often associated with higher tobacco retail density compared to higher median household income. —Reference: (Mills et al., 2022)

Area Deprivation Index

The Area Deprivation Index (ADI) is a scientifically validated tool that ranks neighborhoods by social disadvantage by looking at factors beyond just income. The ADI combines data on income, employment, education, and housing to determine an ADI score between 1 (lowest deprivation) and 10 (highest deprivation). The ADI is useful to identify, evaluate, and improve factors that impact health and quality of life across populations.

The map displays ADI for Idaho at the census block level, using state-only deciles. Warmer colors (reds/oranges) indicate more disadvantaged areas, while cooler colors (blues) indicate less disadvantaged areas. The small grey/black circles represent tobacco exposure zones, with the black areas indicating high concentration of tobacco retail. Note that some of the most disadvantage areas also have the highest concentration of tobacco retail.

Reference: (Kind and Buckingham, 2018)
Data Source: Neighborhood Atlas (2023), downloaded Nov 5, 2025