Ambitious plan for "tobacco-free" Scotland by 2034

Factors associated with support for reducing and ending tobacco sales among university students in Queensland, Australia and New Zealand

OBJECTIVE

To assess the factors associated with support for reducing tobacco retail availability and ending the legal sale of cigarettes in Australia and New Zealand (NZ).

METHODS

Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in NZ (eight universities, n=1,932) and Queensland (University of Queensland or UQ, n=5,172). Participants were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with reducing the number of places allowed to sell cigarettes/tobacco and ending the legal sale of cigarettes within 10 years. Multinomial logistic regression models assessed associations between support with student characteristics.

RESULTS

More than half the respondents in both samples supported reducing the number of tobacco outlets (NZ 69.3%; UQ 62.3%), and ending the legal sale of cigarettes within 10 years (NZ 53.3%; UQ 51.6%) with marginally more support among NZ students. Men and students who smoked or vaped had lower odds of supporting both strategies compared with women and non-users.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest widespread support for reducing tobacco retail availability among university students in NZ and Queensland, and sex, and smoking and vaping status were strong predictors for support. Around half supported phasing out tobacco sales within 10 years.

IMPLICATIONS FOR PUBLIC HEALTH

Collaborative research should be encouraged to enhance cross-country approaches on tobacco control.

Estimating the effect of a potential policy to restrict tobacco retail availability in New Zealand

Introduction

Reducing tobacco retailer density is suggested to be a key component of tobacco endgames. Where tobacco retail reduction policies exist, ‘grandfathering’ is typically used, where existing retailers are exempt from restrictions aimed at reducing outlet density. We examined the possible impact on tobacco outlet density in New Zealand of a policy preventing new retail outlets from selling tobacco, but allowing existing retail outlets to continue selling tobacco until they ceased trading or relocated.

Methods

We obtained data on numbers of tobacco outlets and the number of outlet closures recorded annually from 2006 to 2016. We calculated the mean and the lowest and highest 3-year rolling average closure rates for each type of tobacco outlet. We projected decreases in the number of tobacco outlets that would hypothetically be permitted to sell tobacco from 2020 onwards and estimated when the combined number of tobacco outlets would decline by 50% and 95%.

Results

Based on mean annual closure rates, the total number of tobacco outlets would decrease by 50% by 2032 and a 95% reduction could be achieved by 2072. By 2025, the number of tobacco outlets would decrease by 27%; by 2050, this reduction would reach 84%.

Conclusion

A tobacco retail reduction policy that prevented new retail outlets from selling tobacco and grandfathered existing retailers would be unlikely to achieve New Zealand’s target of a 95% reduction in tobacco outlet density within several decades of being enacted. Nonetheless, this policy could achieve a 50% reduction in tobacco retail availability in the first decade of implementation.