Retailer Compliance as a Predictor of Youth Smoking Participant and Consumption

Ninety percent of smokers report having their first whole cigarette before the age of 19. Policies, such as youth access laws, are essential to prevent youth from becoming future smokers. In Canada, the Tobacco Act prohibits retailers from furnishing tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18. These laws can only be effective when retailers comply with them. This paper investigates the effect of retailer compliance on youth smoking behavior.

Data on individual smoking behavior in conjunction with provincial retailer compliance rates and cigarette prices for the years 1999-2005 were employed to examine the effects of retailer compliance on youth smoking participation and consumption.

Both price and retailer compliance were significant predictors of smoking participation. A large portion of participants endorsed obtaining their cigarettes through social means. Price elasticity of demand for the overall sample was estimated to be -0.54.

Consistent with previous literature, our results found that retailer compliance is an essential component to the successful implementation of youth access laws. Given that youth access laws and retailer compliance did not quell social access to cigarettes, there is an apparent need within schools and communities to reduce the social sale of tobacco products.