Tobacco Laws Don't Curb Teen Smoking [baby]

Tobacco Laws Don't Curb Teen Smoking

June 5, 2002 -- Making it harder for teenagers to buy cigarettes doesn't necessarily make them less likely to smoke. New research shows there's no evidence that the widespread enactment of so-called "youth access" laws that make it illegal to sell cigarettes to teenagers has any effect on youth smoking rates.

Researchers looked at nine recent studies on the issue and found no real difference in teen smoking rates in communities with tighter restrictions on youth access to cigarettes compared to those without. And there wasn't any sign that increased compliance by tobacco sellers with youth access restrictions produced any reductions in teen smoking.

"Virtually all smokers smoke their first cigarette as teenagers, so it would seem logical that making it more difficult for teenagers to obtain cigarettes would reduce the likelihood that a teen would become a smoker," write the study authors in the June issue of Pediatrics. But their findings suggest that assumption's not true.

According to the study, restricting access has become a cornerstone of federal tobacco control policy and by August 2001, all 50 states and 1,139 local governments passed youth access laws. But although several studies have shown that these laws make it more difficult for minors to buy cigarettes, there has been little research to determine whether these laws actually curb teen smoking.

In their review of the research, study author Caroline M. Fichtenberg, MS, and Stanton A. Glantz, PhD, of the University of California in San Francisco, found no significant relationship between these policies and youth smoking rates.

"One reason why these policies may not affect youth smoking although they do affect the ease with which children can purchase cigarettes is that approximately half of teen smokers use commercial sources as their usual source of cigarettes; the rest obtain cigarettes from parents, friends, and strangers or steal them," write the authors. "As teens find it harder to buy cigarettes they may simply shift to these other sources."

Researchers say that since the funds to combat smoking and tobacco control are limited, more emphasis should be placed on strategies that have been proven to be effective, such as taxes, smoke-free workplaces and homes, media campaigns, and education on the effects of secondhand smoke.