Collaborative research and action to control the geographic placement of outdoor advertising of alcohol and tobacco products in Chicago.

Community activists in Chicago believed their neighborhoods were being targeted by alcohol and tobacco outdoor advertisers, despite the Outdoor Advertising Association of America's voluntary code of principles, which claims to restrict the placement of ads for age-restricted products and prevent billboard saturation of urban neighborhoods. A research and action plan resulted from a 10-year collaborative partnership among Loyola University Chicago, the American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago (ALAMC), and community activists from a predominately African American church, St. Sabina Parish.

Effects of enforcement of youth access laws on smoking prevalence.

Smoking is the primary preventable cause of death, and yet 3,000 adolescents become smokers each day. Most adult smokers begin this deadly habit when they are under the age of 18, which is the minimum legal age for the purchase of cigarettes. The majority of adolescent smokers are able to purchase cigarettes even though laws prohibit the sale of cigarettes to minors.

Long-term findings from Woodridge in reducing illegal cigarette sales to older minors.

The purpose of the present study is to assess the effectiveness of an enforcement program in reducing cigarette sales to older minors in a community that had been successful in reducing illegal sales of cigarettes to younger minors. Cigarette sales rates were monitored over a 3-year period with quarterly compliance testing in Woodridge, Illinois. Sales rates for older minors were found to be only slightly higher than those of younger minors with one exception.

Reducing the illegal sales of cigarettes to minors: analysis of alternative enforcement schedules.

The majority of adolescent smokers are able to purchase cigarettes even though laws prohibit the sale of cigarettes to minors (Radecki & Zdunich, 1993). The present study focused on merchant licensing, civil penalties, and monitoring of merchant behavior. Several different schedules of enforcement in the city of Chicago were evaluated to determine the optimal schedules to reduce the sale of cigarettes to minors in a major metropolitan area.