NCJ Number
196777
Journal
Drugs: Education, Prevention and Policy Volume: 9 Issue: 3 Dated: August 2002 Pages: 285-303
Date Published
August 2002
Length
19 pages
Annotation
This article reviews empirical studies of youth access policies and their impact on youth smoking rates.
Abstract
A popular policy approach to curbing smoking is to reduce the ability of youth to purchase tobacco. Youth access policies have generally been successful at increasing retail compliance with minimum legal purchase age laws but reported considerable variation in the actual percentage increases in compliance. To explain the apparently conflicting empirical results and examine the possible impact of non-retail sources of supply, studies were collected using Internet searches and suggestions were sought from tobacco control experts. Results show that youth access interventions generally involved some combination of compliance checks and penalties, merchant education and training programs, and community education and support. For over-the-counter sales, some youth access interventions included limited or no enforcement efforts, relying instead on retailer education and training programs. While merchant education may promote voluntary compliance, this strategy when used alone appears to be relatively ineffective in reducing tobacco sales. Vending machines allow youth to procure cigarettes with relative ease. Among the options for regulating vending machine sales are a complete vending machine ban, a partial ban, and penalties for owners that sell cigarettes through vending machines to minors. Study results on youth cigarette use are mixed and inconclusive. Some of the reductions in reported use may reflect different reporting patterns, rather than actual changes in use. A framework is presented that highlights factors that may influence policy effectiveness. This framework suggests a number of implications that should be considered in evaluating youth access interventions. The combination of different policies and their levels of implementation may affect not only retail compliance but also smoking rates. The percentage of youth relying on the various sources and their ability to substitute to other sources may affect overall youth use. Research is needed on specific aspects of youth access policies, such as limits on self-service, State laws pre-empting local governments from adopting stricter ordinances, and widespread consistent tobacco licensing policies. 2 figures, 3 tables, 43 references