Use of tobacco retail permitting to reduce youth access and exposure to tobacco in Santa Clara County, California.

Objective: To target youth smoking, the impact of a local tobacco retail permit was evaluated on the number and location of tobacco retailers, and on the level of enforcement and compliance with tobacco sales regulations from 2010 to 2012 within unincorporated Santa Clara County, California.

Methods: Geographic Information Systems (GIS) mapping of each of 36 tobacco retailers pre- and post-intervention, observational surveys of tobacco retail environments pre- and post-intervention, and post-intervention enforcement surveys to measure location of sales, level of enforcement action, and compliance with laws governing sale of tobacco products were conducted.

Results: Eleven (30.