UKCTAS, Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Medical School, Edinburgh, UK.
Department of Nursing Studies, School of Health and Social Science, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK.
Nicotine Tob Res. 2017 Nov 7;19(12):1434-1440. doi: 10.1093/ntr/ntw267.
Reducing young people's access to cigarettes is a key element of smoking prevention policies. This article explores how young people source cigarettes following the increase in the UK minimum age of sale from 16 to 18 years.
Semi-structured individual, paired and triadic interviews with 60 disadvantaged young people aged between 12 and 17. Participants were recruited from clubs and voluntary organizations offering advice and support to disadvantaged young people.
Most participants said they sourced cigarettes from shops, but understandings of "buying cigarettes from shops" included using intermediaries for proxy purchases. Access from social sources was contingent on reciprocation, and blackmarket sources were avoided. The distinction between potential and actual sources reflected participants concerns about their presentation of self. Those who bought cigarettes directly from shops accrued status and power in negotiating social hierarchies. Participants therefore highlighted their smoking related competencies, that is, ability to secure regular retail access to tobacco, while downplaying the significant difficulties they experienced.
The presentational dimension of youth cigarette access highlights a need for caution in associating self-reported changes in young people's cigarette sources straightforwardly with access policies. The conflation of direct retail purchases with proxy purchases, and the interrelationship between commercial and social cigarette sources also raises issues for interpreting data on "usual" cigarette sources from national surveys. Findings suggest that some young people may still be both reliant on making retail cigarette purchases following the increase in the age of sale in the United Kingdom, and experiencing significant difficulties making these.
This study highlights the self-presentational dimension of youth cigarette access in a particular community context, and the important distinction between the apparent range of sources available and their social acceptability in young people's social networks. Young smokers tended to conflate direct retail purchases with proxy purchases, raising issues for interpreting survey data on "usual" cigarette source. The presentational dimension of youth cigarette access also highlights a need for caution in associating self-reported changes in young people's cigarette sources with access policies. Despite participants' stated easy access, few were able to buy cigarettes directly, underscoring the effectiveness of youth access policies.
减少年轻人接触香烟是预防吸烟政策的关键要素。本文探讨了英国将销售最低年龄从 16 岁提高到 18 岁后，年轻人如何获得香烟。
对 60 名年龄在 12 至 17 岁之间的弱势青少年进行了半结构化的个人、配对和三方访谈。参与者是从为弱势青少年提供建议和支持的俱乐部和志愿组织招募的。
大多数参与者表示他们从商店购买香烟，但对“从商店购买香烟”的理解包括使用代理人进行代理购买。从社交来源获得香烟是有条件的，需要互惠，黑市来源是被避免的。潜在来源和实际来源之间的区别反映了参与者对自我表现的关注。那些直接从商店购买香烟的人在协商社会等级制度时获得了地位和权力。因此，参与者强调了他们与吸烟相关的能力，即能够获得定期零售渠道购买烟草的能力，同时淡化了他们所经历的重大困难。
青年香烟获取的表现维度强调，在将年轻人香烟来源的自我报告变化与获取政策直接联系起来时，需要谨慎行事。将直接零售购买与代理购买混为一谈，以及商业和社交香烟来源之间的相互关系，也为解释全国调查中“通常”香烟来源的数据提出了问题。研究结果表明，在英国提高销售年龄后，一些年轻人可能仍然依赖于进行零售香烟购买，并且在进行这些购买时还会遇到重大困难。
本研究在特定的社区背景下突出了青年香烟获取的自我表现维度，以及年轻人社交网络中可用来源的明显范围与其社会可接受性之间的重要区别。青少年吸烟者倾向于将直接零售购买与代理购买混为一谈，这给解释关于“通常”香烟来源的调查数据带来了问题。青年香烟获取的表现维度也强调了在将年轻人香烟来源的自我报告变化与获取政策联系起来时需要谨慎行事。尽管参与者表示容易获得，但很少有人能够直接购买香烟，这突显了青年获取政策的有效性。
