Association between tobacco vendor non-compliance with youth access and point of sale restrictions

A restriction banning the sale of tobacco products to underage youths (youth access) is a central component of tobacco control programmes that aim to minimise the use of tobacco products by youths. This restriction has been in place in numerous jurisdictions across North America since the mid-1990s. Recent estimates have shown between 10% and 14% of North American tobacco vendors sold tobacco to underage youths.1 2 A small number of jurisdictions have implemented restrictions on point of sale promotions of tobacco products aiming to minimise the marketing impact on youths, smokers and former smokers.3 On 31 May 2006, the province of Ontario, Canada implemented restrictions under the Smoke-Free Ontario Act (SFOA) that banned tobacco point of sale promotions and advertising (eg, three-dimensional displays, promotional lighting, etc) while still allowing tobacco products to be visibly displayed at that time. Two evaluations of vendor non-compliance conducted 4 months and 12 months after the SFOA restrictions came into effect found that 12% of vendors were non-compliant with one or more point of sale restriction.4 Comparative rates of vendor non-compliance in other jurisdictions …