ABSTRACT
This study evaluated the effects of tobacco Purchase, Use and Possession (PUP) laws on student perceptions of adolescent tobacco use within towns and schools. Twenty-four towns were randomly assigned into two conditions, the experimental condition (E PUP) involved efforts to increase both PUP law enforcement and reduce minors' access to commercial sources of tobacco, whereas the control condition (C) focused only on efforts to reduce minors' access to commercial sources of tobacco. A hierarchical linear modeling analytical approach was selected due to the multilevel data and nested design. The present study found that over time, youth in the experimental PUP condition observed less youth tobacco usage at school and in their town, and perceived lower rates of tobacco among their peers at school and among friends than youth in the control condition. The findings suggest that PUP law enforcement might be used to strengthen community norms against youth tobacco use.
Subject(s)
Health Policy , Smoking/legislation & jurisprudence , Students/psychology , Tobacco Use Disorder/psychology , Adolescent , Adolescent Behavior , Commerce/legislation & jurisprudence , Community Participation , Female , Friends , Humans , Law Enforcement , Legislation, Drug , Male , Perception , Schools , Tobacco Use Disorder/prevention & controlABSTRACT
This study evaluated the effects of tobacco PUP (Purchase, Use and Possession) laws on tobacco use patterns among students in twenty-four towns, which were randomly assigned into an experimental and a control group. The experimental group involved both PUP law enforcement and reducing minors' access to commercial sources of tobacco, and the condition for the control group involved only efforts to reduce minors' access to commercial sources of tobacco. The present study found that adolescents in the control group had a significantly greater increase in the percentage of youth who smoked 20 or more cigarettes per day when compared to the experimental group.
Subject(s)
Law Enforcement , Smoking Prevention , Adolescent , Commerce/legislation & jurisprudence , Humans , Illinois/epidemiology , Smoking/epidemiologyABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To determine whether youths who have smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days perceive themselves as smokers. METHODS: Sensitivity and specificity for 3 classifications were analyzed and compared to youths' perceptions of smoking status. RESULTS: The common criterion of having smoked cigarettes in the past 30 days reflected youths' perceptions of their smoking status with modest accuracy although adding a second criterion of having also smoked 100 or more cigarettes in a lifetime more accurately reflects youths' perceptions of their smoking status. CONCLUSIONS: Youths frequently determine smoking status based on behavioral criteria that differ from the standard criterion of 30-day point prevalence.
