Trends in Minors Access to cigarettes in the United States, 1999-2009

In the United States, it is illegal to sell cigarettes to persons under age 18 years in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. Still, most smoking experimentation and initiation start before age 18. To determine progress in the past 10 years in minors' access to cigarettes from both social and commercial sources, we analyzed data from the National Youth Tobacco Surveys (NYTS). The results show that the vast majority (82%) of minors get their cigarettes from social sources. An increase in access to cigarettes from social sources was observed from 1999 to 2009, while a decrease in access from commercial sources was observed for that period. The proportion who bought from commercial sources increased with age and differed by gender but not by race/ethnicity. At the present time, it seems current interventions to further limit minors' access to cigarettes from commercial sources have been effective, however, no effective ways to reduce minors' access from social sources, the main source of cigarettes to minors, have been identified or implemented and it has increased in the past 10 years. Evidence-based effective approaches to curtail access from social sources are also needed to reduce smoking experimentation, initiation, and progression.