Center Grant

Local Tobacco Policies, Enforcement, and Youth Smoking
PI:  Joel W. Grube, Ph.D.

Reducing smoking among young people is an important public health goal.  Laws at the state and national level against sales to minors and establishing higher taxes have helped to decrease the number of smokers under age 18 and to reduce the amount of tobacco smoked by young people.  While these policies have been shown to be effective on a broad scale, little is known about if and how policies implemented at the local level are related to youth smoking, the use of alternative sources of cigarettes, and to changes in smoking behavior over time.  Understanding the effects of local strategies is critical to help establish best practices to address this public health issue.

This project:

• Utilizes the youth survey being implemented in other Center components to  address tobacco-related beliefs and behaviors;
• Reviews the implementation and effectiveness of local ordinances and policies in each of the 50 California communities included in the center research;
• Conducts interviews with city administrators, school officials, and police to explore the nature of local policies and the levels of enforcement. 

The study explores several specific questions, including:

• How do local tobacco policies and enforcement relate to the proportion of youth who smoke, how much they smoke, and whether they develop smoking related problems?
• Do local tobacco policies and enforcement affect the beliefs and attitudes and beliefs of young people about smoking?
• Do local tobacco policies and enforcement relate to the number of young people who begin to smoke or to how quickly they increase tobacco use?

The goal of this research is to provide a better understanding of how local tobacco policies are associated with smoking among adolescents.  This information will provide a basis for implementing more effective community interventions to reduce and prevent adolescent smoking and its associated risks. 

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