Knowledge of Ontario’s Tobacco Control Act in the Community of Scarborough

Abstract

Ontario’s Tobacco Control Act (TCA), 1994, states that it is against the law to sell or supply cigarettes to anyone under the age of 19. In the Scarborough community to date, 120 charges have been laid under the TCA demonstrating that, despite education and enforcement, some retailers continue to sell to minors. The “Not To Kids” campaign was developed in partnership with community agencies and the business sector to decrease youth tobacco access through a community-based social marketing and education campaign. Four pre-test data collection initiatives were undertaken to support the development and evaluation of the campaign. These included a youth survey, a retailer survey, compliance checks and a community telephone survey. The purpose of the community telephone survey was to assess the community’s knowledge about selling and supplying cigarettes to minors and reporting offences under the TCA. Although a number of studies have assessed retailer awareness of tobacco control laws, 1,2 to our knowledge, this type of community survey has not been previously conducted. The data generated provided the framework for the development of educational messages and community mobilization strategies. METHODS