YOUTH ACCESS TO TOBACCO - THE EFFECTS OF AGE, GENDER, VENDING MACHINELOCKS, AND ITS THE LAW PROGRAMS

Objectives. This study evaluated the influence of age, gender, vending machine lockout devices, and tobacco industry-sponsored voluntary com pliance programs (''It's the Law'' programs) on underage youths' abili ty to purchase tobacco. Methods. Twelve youths made 480 attempts to pu rchase tobacco in Massachusetts from over-the-counter retailers and ve nding machines with and without remote control lockout devices. Half t he vendors were participating in If's the Law programs. Results. In co mmunities with no requirements for lockout devices, illegal sales were far more likely from vending machines than from over-the-counter sour ces (odds ratio [OR] = 5.9, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 3.3, 10.3), Locks on vending machines made them equivalent to over-the-counter so urces in terms of illegal sales to youths. Vendors participating in It 's the Law programs were as likely to make illegal sales as nonpartici pants (OR = 0.87, 95% CI = 0.57, 1.35). Girls and youths 16 years of a ge and older were more successful at purchasing tobacco, Conclusions. The It's the Law programs are ineffective in preventing illegal sales. While locks made vending machines equivalent to over-the-counter sour ces in their compliance with the law, they are not a substitute for la w enforcement.