Availability of cigarettes to minors

Abstract: Legislation banning the sale of cigarettes to minors is potentially a cost-effective means of reducing smoking rates among adolescents. Such legislation has been in existence in Australia for over 80 years. Two studies examined the retail industry's adherence to the sales ban in two regions of New South Wales in 1990. The first study was a survey of 1 849 12- to 15-year-old adolescents from 12 high schools in New South Wales, providing data on self-reported purchasing of cigarettes from retail outlets by minors. In all, 38 per cent reported having purchased cigarettes illegally. A second study was undertaken to determine the proportion of retail shops which sell cigarettes to apparently underage youth. Two 16-year-olds who looked young for their age attempted to purchase cigarettes from 101 different retail outlets in one region of New South Wales. No challenge about age was made for 70 per cent of purchases, and proof of age was requested on only 15 per cent of occasions. The results suggest that legislation banning sales of cigarettes to minors requires strong enforcement procedures to be effective.     

Minority youth access to tobacco: a neighborhood analysis of underage tobacco sales

The geographic and racial-ethnic inequities in health in the US are concerning, and their reduction is a priority for the national health initiative: Health People 2010. Though voluntary, life-style factors, such as smoking, are partially a cause of unevenness in health outcomes, targeting tobacco to minority youth raises questions about the extent to which behaviors are exacerbated by the local retail environment. In this case study, a GIS analysis of neighborhoods where businesses sold tobacco to minors was conducted with 2005 Florida Department of Health, and US census data, finding that in Miami, underage tobacco sales were significantly more concentrated in Hispanic majority neighborhoods.     

Availability of school physical activity facilities to the public in four U.S. communities

PURPOSE: This study documents the public availability of school physical activity facilities, reasons facilities were not made available to the public, and the barriers and benefits associated with having facilities available. DESIGN: Cross-sectional. SETTING: All schools located in four geographic locations (Washington County, Maryland; northwest suburbs of Minneapolis, Minnesota; Jackson, Mississippi; and Forsyth County, North Carolina). SUBJECTS: The survey was completed by 289 school representatives for a response rate of 82.3% (289/351 schools). For the nonrespondents, 61 of 62 schools were visited to obtain information on outdoor facilities. MEASURES: Information on indoor and outdoor physical activity facilities available to the public was collected for all schools (public, private, and colleges) using a telephone survey. Site visits were made to schools that did not participate in the survey to collect information on outdoor facilities only. RESULTS: The schools in the four geographic areas owned a wide range and number of physical activity facilities for their students. For the schools, 27% had no indoor facilities and 11% had no outdoor facilities. Private schools and colleges were less likely to have indoor or outdoor facilities compared to public schools. Outdoor facilities were available more often to the public than indoor facilities overall, across sites, and by school type (public, private, college). Among the 313 schools with outdoor facilities, 240 (77%) allowed at least some public use, and among the 210 schools with indoor facilities, 134 (64%) allowed at least some public use. Some reasons that facilities were not made available included: for student use only, supervision and personnel requirements, safety concerns, insurance, liability, and a private or church-owned status. The most common benefits of allowing the public to use the facilities included providing a space to keep youth active and good publicity for the school. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest that safety, insurance, and liability concerns are barriers that need to be addressed with schools before indoor and outdoor facilities can be made available to the public. Furthermore, emphasizing the benefits that we found, such as providing a space to keep youth active and good publicity for the school, would also be important.     

京津沪城市中学生香烟来源与可获得性分析

目的了解京津沪城市中学生香烟来源与可获得性现状,为评价相关干预政策提供依据。方法根据2008年全国青少年健康危险行为监测数据,描述京津沪城市中学生近期吸烟、香烟来源及香烟可获得性现状。结果京津沪城市男、女中学生近期吸烟率分别达到16.3%和6.1%;吸烟学生的香烟主要来源为"自己购买",男、女生分别为75.9%和61.6%,其中以"从商店买"为首要来源。女生"自己购买"的比例显著低于男生。14岁以上的吸烟学生超过半数"自己购买"香烟,且该比例随年龄增长而快速增长。约98%的近期吸烟学生购烟时从未因年龄太小而被拒售。结论我国京津沪地区近期吸烟的中学生自己购烟的比例处于较高水平,香烟对于未成年人具有高可获得性。禁止向未成年人售烟的法规执行和监督力度有待加强。     

Air pollution and health in three urban communities.

A health study was conducted in three communities in the greater Montreal region; the first two were characterized by relatively high particulate and sulfur dioxide levels, respectively, and a third community without major industrial pollution. In each community, 300 men and women 45 to 64 yr of age were studied. Residents of the two more polluted communities exhibited a higher prevalence of respiratory symptoms and mean lung function evaluated by various tests was lower than in residents of the less polluted community. When intercity differences in age and smoking were accounted for, no statistically significant intercity differences in health status could be shown. Given the limitations of this study, the results provide no evidence to suggest that current Canadian standards for sulfur dioxide adequately protect human health as measured by the indices used in the study, for adults in the age range of 45 to 64 yr.     

Relationship between alcohol, drug use and traffic accidents related to nightlife among a Spanish youth sample in three autonomous communities in 2007

BACKGROUND: The phenomenon known as binge drinking and other drug abuse frequently occurs among young people in nightlife-related areas. This study analyzes the risk behaviours and the accident rate related to alcohol and other drugs among a sample of young people involved in nightlife. METHOD: A total of 440 young people from 3 Spanish Autonomous Communities took part. The sample size was estimated by means of Respondent Driven Sampling. The statistical analyses mined frequencies and measurements of the relationship of driving risk-related behaviour in relation to the accident rate, number of cases of drunkenness, frequency of accidents during the past month, influence of gender and age, as well as the predictiveness of these variables as regards the accident rate. RESULTS: A total of 50.2% of these young people had gotten into a vehicle with a driver who was drunk and/or under the influence of drugs, 23.2% has driven when drunk and 23.5% under the influence of drugs. The greater the degree of involvement in nightlife, the higher the frequency of drunkenness [ chi(2) (9)=112.24; p< .000 ] the greater the number of cases of drunkenness, the higher the frequency of these behaviors: getting into a vehicle with drivers who are drunk or under the influence of drugs [ c(2)=36,442, (3) p<0.001 ], drunken driving [ chi(2) =23,748, (3) p<0.001 ] and driving while under the influence of drugs [ chi(2)=23,816 (3) p<0.001 ]. The regression analysis highlighted drunken driving (odds-ratio=5.4) as the risk behaviour most related to traffic accidents. conclusions: There is a high incidence of risk behaviours while driving vehicles. Drunkenness, drug use and involvement in nightlife increase the frequency of these behaviours. Drunken driving was the best accident predictor.