Perception of and legal compliance with the law prohibiting cigarette sales to minors in Thailand following the raising of the minimum selling age to 20 years: a cross-sectional survey

ObjectivesThe minimum age for cigarette sales in Thailand was increased from 18 to 20 years, as stipulated in the Tobacco Products Control Act B.E. 2017. This study investigated tobacco retailers’ perceptions, cigarette sales behaviour and other factors relevant to selling cigarettes to people young...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:BMJ open Vol. 13; no. 11; p. e072411
Main Authors: Phetphum, Chakkraphan, Chomson, Supatana, Wangwonsin, Artittaya, Prajongjeep, Atchara, Keeratisiroj, Orawan
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: England British Medical Journal Publishing Group 03.11.2023
BMJ Publishing Group LTD
BMJ Publishing Group
Series:Original research
Subjects:
Adolescent
Adult
Age
Child development
Cigarettes
Compliance
Convenience stores
Cross-Sectional Studies
Customer services
Elementary schools
Grocery stores
Health policy
Humans
Identification documents
Law enforcement
Minors
Perception
Perceptions
Point of sale
Public Health
Questionnaires
Retail stores
Risk Factors
Sample size
Smoking
Teenagers
Thailand
Tobacco
Tobacco Products
Young Adult
Thailand
Risk Factors
Health policy
Adolescent
ISSN:2044-6055, 2044-6055
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Summary:ObjectivesThe minimum age for cigarette sales in Thailand was increased from 18 to 20 years, as stipulated in the Tobacco Products Control Act B.E. 2017. This study investigated tobacco retailers’ perceptions, cigarette sales behaviour and other factors relevant to selling cigarettes to people younger than 20 years in areas surrounding schools in Thailand.DesignCross-sectional survey.SettingTobacco shops within a radius of 500 m of secondary schools across four regions of Thailand. Data collection took place between May and August 2019.Participants1440 tobacco retailers (grocery or convenience stores) were sampled via a stratified, two-stage cluster sampling method. 1021 retailers completed the self-administered questionnaire.Outcome measuresTobacco sales to people younger than 20 years.ResultsThe prevalence of the retailers’ cigarette sales to youth younger than 20 years was 38.20% (95% CI 35.2% to 41.3%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis revealed associations with sale of single cigarettes (adjusted OR (AOR) 23.14, 95% CI 15.13 to 35.39), self-service sale of cigarettes (4.21, 2.59 to 6.86) and display of cigarettes at the point of sale (2.39, 1.47 to 3.89). Cigarette sales to underage youth were higher among retailers located in the northeast region (AOR 2.09, 95% CI 1.20 to 3.64) and among those who did not perceive the prosecution of violators in the past year (1.85, 1.16 to 2.96).ConclusionA large percentage of cigarette retailers violated the laws related to underage cigarette sales. Measures to minimise retailers’ legally non-compliant sales behaviours should be implemented along with improved legal enforcement.
Bibliography:Original research
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ISSN:2044-6055
2044-6055
DOI:10.1136/bmjopen-2023-072411