MINORS ACCESS TO SINGLE CIGARETTES IN CALIFORNIA

Objective. As the cost of a pack of cigarettes continues to increase, miners may resort to purchasing single cigarettes (''loosies''), but n o clear data on their rate of access to singles are available. This st udy examined the availability of singles to miners by gender, age, and ethnicity. Design. In a factorial experiment, 36 miners of different sexes, ages, and ethnic groups each attempted to purchase a single cig arette once in half of a group of 72 randomly selected stores in middl e-class California communities, for a total of 1,271 single cigarette purchase attempts. Results. Miners were able to purchase singles 7.9% of the time, with this access rate being significantly higher (16.2%) for older (16-year-old) miners. Miners were typically charged 15 cents for the single, and singles were sold by 28 of the 72 (38.9%) stores. Conclusions. Miners have considerable access to single cigarettes in middle-class, California communities, despite California laws banning their sale. Miners' rate of access to singles in poorer communities an d in states that lack legislation against selling them is probably sig nificantly higher. Because singles facilitate cigarette purchases by m iners who lack money, any legislation that increases the cost of a pac k of cigarettes must also explicitly ban the sale of singles. (C) 1998 American Health Foundation and Academic Press.