Tobacco Documents Online

~ VV - ~ ~ R 0 B E ; T \V O D ; . Embargoed until: February 1, 1995 Contact: Cindy Drucker Peggy Barresi Cone/Coughlin Communications 617-227-2111 NATION'S FIRST SURVEY RELEASED FOCUSING ON YOUTH ACCESS TO TOBACCO (D Broad :.iajority Supports Extensive Actions To Protect Childr~n From Becoming Smokers PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY FEBRUARY 1, 1995 -- A surprising result was found in a new national study released today to determine public attitudes towards limiting children's access to tobacco. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Youth Access to Tobacco survey revealed a wide base of support by adults for specific actions to make tobacco less accessible to children and to restrict advertising promotions that may encourage them to light up. The broad range of support cuts across age, sex, ethnicity, ideology, party and geographic region, a finding that researchers say is noteworthy given the political shift in the last election. Mathematica Policy Research conducted the survey of 2,345 adults in October and November for The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the country's largest private grant maker in the health field. The RWJF survey comes at a time when health experts are concerned that unlike the drop in smoking among adults, the number of teen smokers is stubbornly steady, and they are starting to smoke at ever younger ages. The average teen smoker starts at 13 and becomes a daily smoker by age 14-and-a-half. It has been estimated that minors smoke over 500 million packs of cigarettes a year with at least half of those packs acquired illegally.

Broadbased suI2port Measures receiving broad support in the RWJF survey include: dNot allowing coupons on cigarette packs to obtain promotional items appealing to youth (70%) oBanning all cigarette vending machines (74%) eKeeping tobacco products behind counters to prevent shoplifting by minors (78%) •I.D. verification by vendors selling to anyone appearing underage (94%) •Extending regulation of nicotine products, such as nicotine patches and gum, to cigarettes (71%) :n addition, there was a broad consensus that limitin~ tobacco advertising to text, and prohibiting pictures and cartoons, would make smoking less appealing to kids (73%). Critical attitude shifts "We were surprised by the broad support for these actions," said Nancy Kaufman, RWJF Vice President. "It may stem from two critical shifts in thinking that were also revealed in the survey. First, despite the fact that it's illegal for minors to buy cigarettes, most people (68%) believe it is easy for kids to buy them. Second, the public overwhelmingly (92%) believes nicotine in cigarettes is addicting. This helps explain that regardless of being a conservative or liberal, smoker or non-smoker, a maiority supports several actions to make it harder for kids to start what can become a harmful, lifelong addiction. As 89% of adult daily smokers start by age 18, limiting access to tobacco products is critical to protect the health of children." The primary purpose of this r.ational survey was to assess public opinion about policy alternatives that would make it harder for children to smoke, rather than focusing on restricting adults' access to tobacco products. For example, respondents were told: Plain packaging of cigarettes and smokeless products would mean that the package would include only the brand name and warning label in black letters against a white background. To make cigarettes appear less attractive to kids, should tobacco companies be required to use plain packaging for their products or should plain packaging not be required? Forty-seven percent (47%) of respondents said tobacco companies should be required to use plain packaging.

While the survey showed broadbased support for certain measures to reduce children's access to tobacco, researchers found that support for other measures was more varied: •Limiting tobacco sales to certain kinds of retailers, as with alcohol (46%) •Banning tobacco advertising in newspapers and magazines (51%) •Prohibiting tobacco companies from sponsoring sports or entertainment events featuring their brand names (55%) •Prohibiting tobacco companies from showing their products in movies and videos (60%) Kaufman pointed out, "A broad cross-section of Americans agree that it makes sense to do more to keep tobacco out of the hands of children. As a foundation investing in the health of children, it's c:ear to us that most 13-year-olds just aren't prepared to handle the pressures that lead many of them to smoke, a decision that can haunt them for life. Indeed, we know that 80% of the children who smoke have tried to quit, yet only 1.2% succeed. We trust that policy makers, health officials and communities will carefully review our findings as they consider future policy options." The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the nation's fourth largest philanthropy and has supported research and innovations in health for over 20 years. During that period, the foundation has made more than $1.6 billion in grants devoted exclusively to improving the health and health care of Americans. Founded in 1968, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR) is one of the few research institutions in the country to combine comprehensive research and data collection capabilities with expertise in addressing the nation's social policy agenda. Each yearNII'R conducts dozens of large-scale surveys designed to meet rigorous statistical standards and to provide important data to decision makers in the public and private sectors. #kt# C~ C"d cs~ ~ a ~ 00