Advanced Search

Journal Navigation

Journal Home

Subscriptions

Archive

Contact Us

Table of Contents

Advertisement
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to Saved Citations
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Request Reprints
Right arrow Add to My Marked Citations
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Right arrow Citing Articles via Scopus
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Hagquist, C.
Right arrow Articles by Eriksson, C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Hagquist, C.
Right arrow Articles by Eriksson, C.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?

Smoking habits before and after the introduction of a minimum-age law for tobacco purchase: Analysis of data on adolescents from three regions of Sweden

Curt Hagquist

Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden, curt.hagquist{at}kau.se

Mona Sundh

Karlstad University, Karlstad, Sweden

Charli Eriksson

Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden

Aims: The purpose of this study was to analyse changes in smoking habits among adolescents in three regions of Sweden following the introduction in 1997 of a law prohibiting sales of tobacco to persons under 18 years: the minimum-age law. Methods: The analysis is based on data collected among adolescents in compulsory school years 7 and 9 (about 13—14 and 15—16 years respectively), in 1996, 2000, and 2005, in three regions of Sweden. The samples comprise 43,857 students who completed a self-administered questionnaire anonymously in the classroom. The data were subjected to contingency-table analysis and logistic regression analysis. Results: The rates of smoking among students in year 9 were significantly lower in 2005 than in 1996 in two regions and unchanged in one region. This pattern held even after control for sex, parents' smoking habits, and academic orientation. In year 7 there were no changes over time (boys) or any clear pattern (girls). Conclusions: Based on outcomes from test purchases of tobacco products that were carried out in parallel to the collection of the questionnaire data, it is reasonable to hypothesize that the regional differences described may at least in part be due to differences in the availability of cigarettes. In 2005 it was significantly easier for adolescents to purchase tobacco products at retailers in the city of Malmö than at those in the counties of Värmland and Västernorrland.

Key Words: Adolescents • minimum-age law • regional differences • smoking

Scandinavian Journal of Public Health, Vol. 35, No. 4, 373-379 (2007)
DOI: 10.1080/14034940701256925
Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Eur J Public HealthHome page
M. Karekla, A. Symeou, H. Tsangari, M. Kapsou, and M. Constantinou
Smoking prevalence and tobacco exposure among adolescents in Cyprus
Eur J Public Health, May 27, 2009; (2009) ckp064v1.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Advertisement