Abstract
This study reports the sales rate of cigarettes to minors in San Diego County, and investigates factors associated with cigarette sales to minors. Two hundred and ninety-four stores were identified and recruited to participate in a retailer education effort. To assess the baseline illegal sales rate of cigarettes to minors, selected stores were surveyed by 70 volunteer teams of adults and minors. Questionnaires were also administered to participating store owners or managers to assess retailers' knowledge about laws regulating minors' access to tobacco. Survey results indicated that minors were able to successfully purchase cigarettes in 68% of attempts. In addition, teen gender, community sociodemographics and cashier characteristics were associated with sales to minors. Analyses of the retailer questionnaire indicated retailers knew the legal age to purchase cigarettes, but few knew of the specific penalties associated with sales to minors. These findings indicate that minors have easy access to cigarettes and underscore the need for intensive tobacco sales education for retailers and enforcement of sales to minors laws.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:Reducing the health consequences of smoking; 25 years of progress. A report of the Surgeon General. DHHS Publication NO. (CDC) 89-8411. Rockville, MD: Office of Smoking and Health, Centers for Disease Control, 1989.
Pierce, JP, Fiore, MC, Novotny, TE, Hatziandreu, EJ, Davis, RM, Trends in cigarette smoking in the United States: Projections to the year 2000.JAMA 261:61–65, 1989.
Burns, D, & Pierce, JP:Tobacco Use in California 1990–1991. Sacramento: California Department of Health Services, 1992. Pp. 23–28.
de Moor, C, Elder, JP, Young, RL, Wildey, MB, Molgaard, CA, Generic tobacco use among four ethnic groups in a school age population.J Drug Educ 19:257–270, 1989.
Johnston, LD, O'Malley, PM, Bachman, JG, Psychotherapuetic, licit and illicit use of drugs among adolescents.J Adolesc Health Care 8:36–51, 1987.
Difranza JR, & Tye, JB, Who profits from tobacco sales to children.JAMA 263:2784–2787, 1990.
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:Smoking and health in the Americas: A 1992 report of the Surgeon General, in collaboration with the Pan American Health Organization. DHHS Publication No. (CDC) 92-8419, 1992.
Choi, WS, Novotny, TE, Thimis, AT, Restricting minors' access to tobacco: a review of state legislation, 1991.Am J Prev Med 8:19–22, 1992.
Minors easily buy tobacco.Doc News Views 2(Spring) 10, 1988.
DiFranza, JR, Norwood, BD, Garner, DW, Tye, JB, Legislative efforts to protect children from tobacco.JAMA 257:3387–3389, 1987.
Altman, D, Foster, V, Rasenick-Doug L, Tye, JB, Reducing the illegal sale of tobacco to minors.JAMA 261:80–83, 1989.
Feighery, E, Altman, D, Shaffer, G, The effects of combining education and enforcement to reduce tobacco sales to minors: A study of four northern California communities.JAMA 26:3168–3171, 1991.
Skretny, MT, Cummings, KM, Sciandra, R, Marshall, J, An intervention to reduce the sale of cigarettes to minors.NY State J Med 90:54–55, 1990.
Wildey, MB, Young, RL, Elder, JP, et al., Cigarette point-of-sale advertising in ethnic neighborhoods in San Diego, California.Health Values 16:23–28, 1992.
Cigarette sales by retail outlets.US Distribution J 115:12, 1988.
Jason, LA, Ji, PY, Anes, MD, Birkhead, SH, Active enforcement of cigarette control laws in the prevention of cigarette sales to minors.JAMA 266:3159–3161, 1991.
The worldwide smoking epidemic: tobacco, trade, use, and control.JAMA 263:3312–3318, 1990.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
Ann D. Erickson is Assistant Intervention Coordinator, Susan I. Woodruff is Evaluation Coordinator, Marianne B. Wildey is Intervention Coordinator, and Erin Kenney is Principal Investigator, all at the Graduate School of Public Health, San Diego State University, Behavioral and Community Health Studies, 6363 Alvarado Ct. Ste. 225, San Diego, CA 92120.
Funding was provided by the Tobacco Tax Health Protection Act of 1988-Proposition 99, under grant number 90-10960. The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of Felipe Castro, PhD, MSW and Nadia Campbell, MPH.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Erickson, A.D., Woodruff, S.I., Wildey, M.B. et al. A baseline assessment of cigarette sales to minors in San Diego, California. J Community Health 18, 213–224 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01324432
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01324432