A. Biglan et al., MOBILIZING POSITIVE REINFORCEMENT IN COMMUNITIES TO REDUCE YOUTH ACCESS TO TOBACCO, American journal of community psychology, 24(5), 1996, pp. 625-638
A community intervention to mobilize positive reinforcement for not to
bacco to young people was evaluated. The intervention had five compone
nts: (a) mobilization of community support, (b) merchant education, (c
) changing consequences to clerks for selling or not selling to those
under 18, (d) publicity about clerks' refusals to sell, and (e) feedba
ck to store owners or managers about the extent of their sales to adol
escents. A multiple baseline design experiment was conducted, in which
two small Oregon communities received the intervention, while two oth
ers continued in baseline. Outlets' willingness to sell was assessed r
epeatedly by teenage volunteers. The intervention significantly reduce
d the proportion of stores willing to self. Mobilizing social and mate
rial reinforcement for stores not selling tobacco to young people is a
viable means of reducing such sales. It may be especially valuable in
communities where laws against sales to minors go unenforced.