Abstract
Aims:To examine existing evidence on the effectiveness of interventions that are designed to prevent the illegal sale of tobacco to young people. The review considers specific sub-questions related to the factors that might influence effectiveness, any differential effects for different sub-populations of youth, and barriers and facilitators to implementation.Methods:A review of studies on the impact of interventions on young people under the age of 18 was conducted. It included interventions that were designed to prevent the illegal sale of tobacco to children and young people. The review was conducted in July 2007, and included 20 papers on access restriction studies. The quality of the papers was assessed and the relevant data was extracted. Results:The evidence obtained from the review indicates that access restriction interventions may produce significant reductions in the rate of illegal tobacco sales to youth. However, lack of enforcement and the ability of youth to acquire cigarettes from social sources may undermine the effectiveness of these interventions. Conclusions:When access interventions are applied in a comprehensive manner, they can affect young people’s access to tobacco. However, further research is required to examine the effects of access restriction interventions on young people’s smoking behaviour.
Highlights
Preventing Tobacco Use among YouthSmoking among young people is of concern due to the addictive nature of tobacco and the health risks associated with tobacco use
One exception is a 2002 systematic review (+) by Fichtenburg and Glantz which addressed the impact of access restrictions on smoking prevalence, but found no difference in youth smoking in communities with youth access interventions and control communities [9]
The authors concluded that opportunities to purchase cigarettes were reduced by the introduction of a minimum-age law in 1997 that was supported by both merchants and the community. These findings suggest that sustainability is a key issue to the effectiveness of access restrictions in preventing illegal tobacco sales to youth
Summary
Smoking among young people is of concern due to the addictive nature of tobacco and the health risks associated with tobacco use. Risk factors associated with youth smoking include low socioeconomic status, being female, mental illness, low parental education and living in a single parent household [3]. In addition to these socio-demographic factors, youth smoking behavior is influenced by peer pressure and exposure to positive images of smoking in the media. Despite the fact that youth smoking rates have declined over the past two decades in the UK, regular smoking in young people remains a public health issue. In England, the prevalence of regular smoking among young people aged 11 to 15 is 9% [4].
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