State laws on youth access to tobacco in the United States: measuring their extensiveness with a new rating system

Abstract

Objective-To develop and implement a rating system evaluating the extensiveness of state laws restricting youth access to tobacco. Design-State laws on youth access to tobacco were analysed and assigned ratings on nine items. Six items addressed specific tobacco-control provisions, and three related to enforcement provisions. For each item, a target was specified reflecting public health objectives. Achieving the target resulted in a rating of +4 points; for three items, a rating of +5 was possible if the target was exceeded. Criteria for lower ratings were established for situations when the target was not met. Setting-United States. Conclusions-Although all states have laws addressing youth access to tobacco, this analysis reveals that, as of the end of 1996, the progress towards meeting health policy targets is slow, and state legislation that preempts local tobacco regulation is becoming more common. (Tobacco Control 1998;7:345-352)

Tobacco control policy and adolescent cigarette smoking status in the United States

“…For example, for Alciati et al, 1998;Chriqui et al, 2002. middle school students, packaging was correlated with vending machines and free distribution ( r = .75, for both). For the clean indoor air variables, government worksites was strongly correlated with private worksites ( r = .72), schools and childcare facilities ( r = .54, for both), and restaurants ( r = .78; complete results available from fi rst author).…”

“…A state received the highest score if it achieved or exceeded the public health objective for the target area ( Alciati et al, 1998 ). An ordinal scale was used for each smoking policy provision based on the approximate percent of target met: 5 = exceeds target ; 4 = meets target ; 3, 2, and 1 meet approximately 75%, 50%, and 25% of target, respectively; and 0 indicates no effective provision or restriction.…”

“…Tobacco control policy information was obtained from the National Cancer Institute -State Cancer Legislative Database ( Alciati et al, 1998 ;Chriqui et al, 2002 …”

“…Institute (2000) developed the SCLD to track laws related to youth access restrictions and clean indoor air provisions ( Alciati et al, 1998 ;Chriqui et al, 2002 ). J.…”

“…Recent estimates from the Monitoring the Future Study reveal that in 2005 half of American 12th graders had tried cigarettes and nearly a quarter were current smokers ( Johnston, O'Malley, Bachman, & Shulenberg, 2006 ). Tobacco control initiatives at the national, state, and local levels have been established in recent years to prohibit the distribution, sale, and marketing of tobacco products to minors and to stop youth access to cigarettes ( Alciati et al, 1998 ;Glantz, 1997 ;Liang, Chaloupka, Nichter, & Clayton, 2003 ;Luke, Stamatakis, & Brownson, 2000 ). Notably, the Synar Amendment (Federal Public Law 102-321) stipulates the minimum age for purchase of tobacco products as 18 years and calls for enforcement of this law with random inspections of over-the-counter and vending machine outlets .…”