Despite the ban on the sale of tobacco to minors, the majority (9 out of 10) of adolescents buy their cigarettes from tobacconists, according to the results of a study published in the Journal of Respiratory Diseases.
The researchers interviewed 7,025 middle school students aged 12 to 15, 3,299 minor high school students aged 16, 17 and 3,243 major high school students. Among the volunteers, 3.2% were smokers for the first age group, 19% for the second and 22% for adults.
The results of the study revealed that among daily smokers, 90.7% said they bought their cigarettes from the tobacconist. This purchase concerned 74.6% of 12, 15 year olds, 92.0% of 16, 17 year olds and 94.0% of 18, 19 year olds.
This survey also showed that drinking more than 4 glasses of alcohol or consuming cannabis in the month was associated with more purchases at the tobacconist.
The study also reveals that having bought a pack of cigarettes before 12 years old from a tobacconist, young people were more addicted to nicotine around 16, 17 years old compared to those who had not been to a tobacconist than after 15 years old.
“The fact of having bought tobacco before 12 years old from a tobacconist was associated with a high dependence score at 16-17 years, compared to those who had bought from a tobacconist only after 15 years”, explains Prof. Bertrand Dautzenberg, pulmonologist at Pitié Salpêtrière, representative of the Paris Sans Tabac association and author of the study.
Published today, this study had already been talked about in May 2015. Indeed, Professor Bertrand Dautzenberg had announced these results. As a result, he had been sued by the confederation of tobacconists who had declared that “the young people questioned had to provide themselves on the Internet, and claim the opposite to investigators in order to protect this supply chain”. She asks for a repair of 55,000 euros or 1 euros per tobacconist. Verdict on November 30, 2016.
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