The increases in smoking prevalence among U.S. youth during the 1990's, and the growing evidence that adolescents become regular smokers at earlier ages, have attracted significant attention from public health officials. Preventing experimental young smokers from becoming established smokers may be the most effective way of achieving a long run reductions in smoking in the whole population. The paper addresses the gaps in knowledge about the impact of tobacco control policies on youth smoking uptake by examining the differential effects of cigarette prices, Clean Indoor Air laws, youth access laws, and other socio-economic factors on smoking uptake among nationally representative sample of U.S. high school students. Five clearly defined uptake stage categories are developed in order to classify 16,815 survey participants. The results suggest that cigarette prices are negatively related to moving from lower to higher stages of smoking uptake and that higher prices have an increasing impact as an individual's risk of smoking uptake gets larger. Youth access laws are significantly and negatively associated with moving to higher stages of smoking uptake. Interrupting adolescents' progress on the smoking uptake continuum substantially reduces their probability of becoming daily, addicted smokers.
Learning Objectives: The session participants will learn different stages of smoking uptake process, how these stages correspond to progress in nicotine addiction, and how switching between stages can be affected by cigarette tax increases and/or different public policies. The learning goals are teaching participants to recognize smoking uptake stages, and helping them assess effects of tobacco control policies in terms of ability to interrupt smoking uptake progress. At the end, the attendees will be able to develop more precise measures of smoking initiation, better evaluate effectiveness of anti-smoking public policies, and design new measures aiming specifically at disrupting youth cigarette uptake process.
Keywords: Smoking, Tobacco Control
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.