Minority youth access to tobacco: a neighborhood analysis of underage tobacco sales

Health Place. 2009 Mar;15(1):140-7. doi: 10.1016/j.healthplace.2008.03.006. Epub 2008 Mar 25.

Abstract

The geographic and racial-ethnic inequities in health in the US are concerning, and their reduction is a priority for the national health initiative: Health People 2010. Though voluntary, life-style factors, such as smoking, are partially a cause of unevenness in health outcomes, targeting tobacco to minority youth raises questions about the extent to which behaviors are exacerbated by the local retail environment. In this case study, a GIS analysis of neighborhoods where businesses sold tobacco to minors was conducted with 2005 Florida Department of Health, and US census data, finding that in Miami, underage tobacco sales were significantly more concentrated in Hispanic majority neighborhoods.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Commerce / legislation & jurisprudence*
  • Commerce / statistics & numerical data
  • Florida
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Humans
  • Minority Groups*
  • Nicotiana*
  • Residence Characteristics*