Objective-To identify the sources used by young adolescents to obtain cigar
ettes.
Design-In early 1994 a survey assessing usual sources of cigarettes and cha
racteristics of the respondents was administered in homeroom classes.
Setting-A large urban, predominantly African American school system. Subjec
ts-A population-based sample of 6967 seventh graders averaging 13 years of
age.
Main outcome measure-Reports of usual sources of cigarettes.
Results-At this age level, young smokers were more likely to get cigarettes
from friends (31.2%) than buy them in stores (14.3%). However, the odds of
purchasing varied for different groups of children. Regular smokers were m
uch more likely (48.3%) to have purchased cigarettes than experimental smok
ers (9.6%), p<0.001. Girls were less Likely to have bought their cigarettes
than boys (p<0.001), and black smokers were less Likely to have purchased
cigarettes than white children (p<0.001). Results suggested that family mem
bers who smoke may constitute a more important source of tobacco products t
han previously recognised, particularly for young girls.
Conclusions-In this middle-school sample, peers provided the major point of
cigarette distribution. However, even at this age, direct purchase was not
uncommon. Sources of cigarettes varied significantly with gender, ethnicit
y, and smoking rate.