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An evil trade
Author(s) -
Raw Martin
Publication year - 1990
Publication title -
british journal of addiction
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.424
H-Index - 193
eISSN - 1360-0443
pISSN - 0952-0481
DOI - 10.1111/j.1360-0443.1990.tb01596.x
Subject(s) - state (computer science) , addiction , advertising , business , tobacco industry , law , criminology , political science , medicine , psychology , psychiatry , computer science , algorithm
Surveys in the UK show that young people have no difficulty buying cigarettes even though the law forbids their sale under the age of 16. That, essentially, is what Martin Jarvis & Ann McNeill's paper in this issue of the British Journal of Addiction shows. In ‘Children's purchases of single cigarettes: evidence for drug pushing?’ they show how easily 14‐to 15‐year‐old children buy their cigarettes, but with an added twist–many shops break open the packs and sell single cigarettes to children who cannot afford, or do not yet need, a whole packet. This editorial discusses the reasons for this state of affairs and notes the similarities with the situation in the USA, where the Secretary of State for Health has expressed concern. The tobacco industry has expressed concern also but has shown a cynical and typical lack of interest in correcting the situation and, in fact, has failed to respond to suggested solutions. Shops who illegally sell cigarettes to children should be regarded as the drug pushers they are, and treated accordingly.