The tobacco sales ban and tobacco purchases by adolescents: a general population study in The Netherlands

Abstract

Implementation of the 2003 tobacco sales ban has had the (intended) effect of lowering tobacco purchases among adolescents. This was mainly due to the decrease in the likelihood of buying tobacco among those who regard themselves as a non-smoker. The decrease in buying tobacco is associated with a decrease in prevalence of smoking. The sales ban has probably contributed to a stronger decrease in prevalence of smoking.

Which interventions against the sale of tobacco to minors can be expected to reduce smoking?: Table 1

“…Reductions in national adolescent smoking rates of 50% or more have been reported in the USA, Canada, Australia and The Netherlands following the implementation of enforcement programmes 38 50 58 60. In The Netherlands, the proportion of youth that smoked and bought their own tobacco fell by 53%, from 13.5% to 6.4%, while the prevalence of smoking among youth 13–15 years old fell by 64%, from 20.3% to 7.4% 58…”

“…The positive studies include non-controlled studies,33 41 49 non-randomised controlled studies,39 42 and randomised controlled studies 36 51 53. Positive effects were seen in rural communities,36 39 suburban communities,41 42 53 55 across large regions or states,37 38 40 and countrywide 50 58. Positive effects remained in all studies in which it was possible to adjust for other tobacco control initiatives 47 50 56.…”

Impact of laws restricting the sale of tobacco to minors on adolescent smoking and perceived obtainability of cigarettes: an intervention–control pre–post study of 19 European Union countries

“…Secondly, we were not able to distinguish in the analysis between intervention countries that increased the age limit from 16 to 18 years and those without an existing law in place before 2007 (see Table ). There is evidence for the effectiveness of both increasing the age from 16 to 18 years and introducing an age limit . Therefore, it is likely that similar results would have been found in a sample of countries all applying the same strategy.…”

“…Research on the effectiveness of sales restrictions has generated mixed conclusions. Studies from the United States, New Zealand and European countries showed that sales restrictions resulted in a reduction in adolescent smoking prevalence . However, other studies did not find sales restrictions to be effective .…”

“…A lack of effect may be due to weak enforcement of sales restrictions or to a shift from commercial to non‐commercial sources of cigarettes, such as friends and family . Although the obtainability of cigarettes from commercial sources might decrease , the perceived obtainability from other sources has been mainly disregarded in previous studies . Contradictions in the existing literature call for additional research on the effectiveness of sales restrictions on smoking.…”