Minors' access to tobacco before and after the California STAKE Act

Objective-To assess the effect of implementation and enforcement of the California STAKE Act on miners' access to tobacco by examining sales over time in the same stores. Design-Sixteen year old girls and boys attempted to purchase cigarettes in the same 72 stores, in the same manner, in five time periods: August 1994 (before implementation of legislation); August 1995 (immediately after implementation); August 1996; March 1998; and January 1999 tall postimplementation). Outcome measure-Percentage of successful cigarette purchases over time, in different ethnic communities. Results-Minors' access rate decreased significantly from 41.2% before implementation of legislation (1994) to 12.7% after implementation (1998). The same stores were 3-5 times more likely to sell cigarettes to miners before than after the legislation was implemented, irrespective of ethnic census tract. Conclusions-The California STAKE Act and its enforcement have been effective in reducing minors' access to tobacco in all ethnic communities.