Active enforcement of cigarette control laws in the prevention of cigarette sales to minors

Article Abstract:

The authors assessed the effectiveness of legislation to limit the sale of cigarettes to minors by merchants in Woodridge, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago. Although such sales are prohibited by state law, research throughout the country has shown that merchants are not deterred. In this study, merchants were surveyed and junior high school students were questioned concerning their smoking habits. A letter outlining the state law regarding smoking was sent by a police officer to cigarette vendors in Woodridge in August 1988, and community antismoking legislation was passed in May 1989. The rates of cigarette sales before and after these developments are reported. A community-wide education program was carried out simultaneously. Rates were based on the success of 12- and 13-year-olds sent into stores to buy packs of cigarettes. The minors also attempted to buy cigarettes from vending machines. Merchant compliance with the new law was evaluated in quarterly ''sting'' operations by the city police department, and penalties were enforced for violations. The merchant sales rates fell from 70 percent to less than 5 percent one and one-half years after compliance checking began. The cigarette vending machine sale rate went from 100 percent before the new legislation to zero percent within several months of the new law. A survey of students, conducted two months before the legislation was passed, showed that 46 percent had smoked cigarettes at least once; two years later, only 23 percent of the junior high school students had experimented with cigarettes. Most of these young smokers obtained cigarettes from friends, parents, siblings, or others; only 6 percent listed stores or vending machines within Woodridge. The study shows that the frequency of adolescents' experimentation with cigarettes and regular smoking can be substantially reduced by legislation, compliance checks, and enhanced community awareness. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Laws, regulations and rules, Statistics, Smoking and youth, Youth smoking

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Is it easy as young people claim for them to buy cigarettes?: Comparing the results of realistic test purchases with those from trading standards test purchase

Article Abstract:

A study evaluating the ease of access which young people in buying cigarettes, is presented. The study also evaluates the results of tests obtained from official sources, such as Trading Standards Units.

United States, General services, Cigarettes, Cigarette Manufacturing, Youth, Purchasing, Economic aspects, Behavior, Teenagers

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