Gender and ethnic differences in young adolescents' sources of cigarettes

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To identify the sources used by young adolescents to obtain cigarettes. DESIGN In early 1994 a survey assessing usual sources of cigarettes and characteristics of the respondents was administered in homeroom classes. SETTING A large urban, predominantly African American school system. SUBJECTS A population-based sample of 6967 seventh graders averaging 13 years of age. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE Reports of usual sources of cigarettes. RESULTS At this age level, young smokers were more likely to get cigarettes from friends (31.2%) than buy them in stores (14.3%). However, the odds of purchasing varied for different groups of children. Regular smokers were much more likely (48.3%) to have purchased cigarettes than experimental smokers (9.6%), pCONCLUSIONS In this middle-school sample, peers provided the major point of cigarette distribution. However, even at this age, direct purchase was not uncommon. Sources of cigarettes varied significantly with gender, ethnicity, and smoking rate.