THE EFFECTS ON CHILDREN OF PARTICIPATING IN STUDIES OF MINORS ACCESS TO TOBACCO

Background Ethical concerns about the effect on children of participat ing in studies of miners' access to tobacco are frequently raised by h uman subjects' committees but have not been assessed empirically. Data on the effects of such participation on the smoking-related behavior of minors are needed. Method. Forty-eight children were screened and s elected in 1993 to participate in a study of miners' access to tobacco , All 48 attended tobacco-education workshops, none were smokers, and all denied an intention to smoke in the future. Thirty-six of them wer e (randomly) assigned to the experimental group who made 2,567 purchas e attempts (PAs) between 1993 and 1994, and 11 were assigned to a cont rol group who made no PAs. Two years after screening (1 year after com pletion of the study) all were sent a follow-up questionnaire assessin g current intentions to smoke and other smoking-related behaviors. Res ults. Miners who made PAs were significantly less likely than those wh o did blot to indicate an intention to smoke in the future; only 12.5% of experimental vs 71.4% of control group miners intended to (or migh t) smoke in the future. Miners who made PAs also wore significantly mo re likely than those who had trot to discuss smoking with peers and to encourage peers and family to quit smoking or to avoid initiating smo king. In 2,567 PAs, miners were never physically threatened, touched, or harmed, and they were treated with verbal hostility in only 73 (2.8 %) of their PAs. Conclusions. These findings suggest that participatin g in a study of miners' access to tobacco does not increase smoking or intentions to smoke among the miners. Rather, such participation may be associated with low intentions to smoke and with increased tobacco control efforts on the part of the miners. The effects of participatin g in such studies may be positive for the miners, their families, and their peers. Participating in such studies does not place miners at ri sk far physical harm, and their risk for verbal abuse is low. (C) 1997 Academic Press.