Socioeconomic Inequalities in Children's Exposure to Tobacco Retailing

SUMMARY

Research shows pre-adolescence is a critical period where the path to starting smoking begins. A single smoking experience at age 11 is associated with an increased risk of smoking in the future. The availability of tobacco products can normalise smoking in a local population and make it harder to give up smoking. Past studies have shown disadvantaged areas tend to have more tobacco retail outlets and that the prevalence of smoking and deaths from smoking are higher in deprived localities.

Researchers from the University of Glasgow and the University of Edinburgh wanted to find out how often children in disadvantaged areas were exposed to tobacco retailing compared with those in more advantaged areas. They mapped the location of all shops selling tobacco products across Scotland, and used GPS-trackers to follow a group of 692 10- and 11-year-olds for eight consecutive days. They were able to identify how often, and for how long, the children, who were all part of the Growing Up in Scotland study, went within 10 metres of a shop selling tobacco.