THE PROBLEM AND SOCIOCULTURAL CONTEXT OF SINGLE-CIGARETTE SALES

Objective.-To provide data on the sale of single cigarettes to adults and miners and to examine the sociocultural context in which these sal es occur. Design.-A naturalistic observation study using repeated meas ures. Two hundred six stores in a convenience sample were visited by o ne minor and one adult who each attempted to purchase a single cigaret te. Main Outcome Measures.-Single-cigarette sales to an adult and/or m inor. Data were obtained on type of store and, if a sale occurred, on the price, brand, and packaging of the cigarette. The ethnic compositi on of the neighborhood surrounding each store was determined. Results. -One hundred one (49.1%) of the stores sold single cigarettes. Singles were sold significantly more often to miners than to adults, and when both could make a purchase, miners paid more for these singles than d id adults. Singles were least likely to be sold in white neighborhoods , more likely to be sold in integrated neighborhoods, and most likely to be sold in minority neighborhoods. Miners were able to purchase sin gle cigarettes during 34.4% of the visits to white neighborhoods but c ould do so during 71.2% of the visits to minority neighborhoods; adult s were able to make similar purchases during 24% of the visits to whit e neighborhoods and 37.3% of the visits to minority neighborhoods. Con clusions.-The illegal sale of single cigarettes involves complex socio cultural factors heretofore unexamined. An understanding of such facto rs may be useful in planning merchant education programs and drafting policy to control illegal sales.