Where Manitoba children obtain their cigarettes

Abstract

People who start to smoke as children put themselves at greater risk of dying prematurely or being disabled by tobacco-induced disease. One solution is to restrict children's access to cigarettes, thereby reducing consumption of the product and, ultimately, damage to health. This study found that in 1985 the majority of Manitoba public school children 8 to 15 years of age who smoked "regularly" (defined as usually every day) obtained their cigarettes from stores. This source could be reduced, if not eliminated, were a federal regulation passed in 1908 enforced. Under Canada's Tobacco Restraint Act it is illegal for merchants to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 16 years. By implementing this existing law, authorities would not only be keeping the profit from almost a million dollars in cigarette sales in Manitoba alone out of tobacco company coffers but also be having an impact on the leading cause of preventable premature death and disability in Canada.