ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Prohibition of tobacco sales to minors is a provision of the World Health Organization Framework Convention on tobacco control. This measure is effective to reduce youth tobacco use, if the legislation adopted is properly implemented and enforced. Through the examples of France and Quebec, the objective of this study is to compare legislative frameworks prohibiting tobacco sales to minors, their enforcement, and possible impact on underage smoking. METHODS: Identification of legislative instruments, reports from public health authorities, and articles addressing the focused question was performed trough Medline and Google. RESULTS: Selling tobacco products to minors under 18 years of age has been banned by the law since 1998 in Quebec and 2009 in France. In 2011, in France for individuals aged 17, compliance with the law was 15%. In 2017 in France, 94% of 17-year-old daily smokers regularly bought their cigarettes in a tobacco store. Law enforcement controls and sanctions are non-existent. In 2013 in Quebec, 23% of underage smoking students usually bought their own cigarettes in a business. The compliance rate with the prohibition law rose from 37% in 2003 to 92.6% in 2017. An approach of underage "mystery shoppers" attempting to purchase tobacco products and dedicated inspectors has been implemented, and progressive sanctions are applied in case of non-compliance. In 2013, 12.2% of Quebec high school students and, in 2017, 34.1% of French 17 year olds reported using tobacco products in the last 30 days. CONCLUSION: Only an improved law enforcement, through the training of tobacco retailer's, inspections and effective deterrent penalties for non-compliance, leads to an effective legislative measure in terms of public health.
