Youth tobacco access: adult attitudes, awareness, and perceived self-efficacy in two Arizona counties

Abstract

While a variety of steps have been taken to restrict youth access to tobacco, little has been done to explore adult attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors concerning this issue. To ameliorate this knowledge gap, 828 adults from Arizona's Maricopa and Pima counties were surveyed. Overall, adults perceived that the prevention of youth tobacco access was: an important issue, an issue they are willing to spend money on, and a responsibility shared by all adults. Further, when asked who was most responsible for keeping tobacco away from minors, 65.4% of adults surveyed perceived parents of the youth purchasing tobacco as most responsible. Responding to items soliciting opinions regarding appropriate penalties for minors purchasing tobacco and for those selling tobacco to minors, respondents recommended stiffer punishment for the sellers of tobacco. Almost 10% recommended a night in jail for vendors caught selling tobacco products to minors. Interestingly, respondents exhibited low perceived self-efficacy regarding the prevention of youth tobacco access. The majority of adults agreed that it is easy for minors to gain access to tobacco and that there is nothing they or the community can do to stop minors who wish to purchase tobacco. Future research efforts should investigate how adult self-efficacy can be increased and the impact that such a change would have on efforts to prevent youth tobacco access.