Canada: Contraband boosts teen smoking: Study

Anti-smoking strategies aimed at young people are going up in smoke thanks to the trade in contraband cigarettes, says a study of high school smokers in today's Canadian Medical Association Journal.
"The widespread use of First Nations/Native brand cigarettes, especially in Ontario and Quebec, presents a serious challenge to tobacco-control strategies," warns Dr. Russell Callaghan of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto.
Callaghan and four others studied smoking trends among 41,866 students from grades 9 to 12 during the 2006-07 school year.
They found that slightly more than 13% of young daily smokers claimed illegal cigarettes purchased through First Nations sources were their "usual brand."
Students who turned to these illegal cigarettes were also apt to light up more than other adolescent smokers -- accounting for 17.5% of butts smoked by their age group. On average, contraband cigarette smokers went through almost 17 cigarettes a day, whereas those who used legal brands averaged about 12.
"Although the use of illicit substances by adolescents is well known, the use of contraband cigarettes in this age group is striking," the study says.
Government tactics to discourage youth smoking focus on restricting sales to those above a certain age, and pricing cigarettes beyond the range young people can afford. But native smokes are often sold for one-third the price of legitimate cigarettes. "From the point of view of saving the lives of young people, it's imperative that the government act," said federal NDP health critic Judy Wasylycia-Leis.
In a letter to the federal government in May, the three opposition parties called for tougher action on illegal smokes, pointing to "cheap contraband cigarettes flooding schoolyards" and citing RCMP statistics that more than 100 organized crime gangs are involved in illegal tobacco sales. Further, "smokers of contraband cigarettes are less likely than smokers of legitimate brands to attempt to quit or to achieve smoking cessation," the study says.

Source: Toronto Sun, 8th September 2009