Young people's access to tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs
BMJ 2005; 331 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.331.7513.393 (Published 11 August 2005) Cite this as: BMJ 2005;331:393Data supplement
Posted as supplied by author.
Rationale
The term availability is open to interpretation. This review was intended to address those aspects of availability which are amenable to control measures applied by the state to the supply chain and are feasible in the current UK policy context. We therefore considered only those factors operating after substances are cultivated or manufactured and up to the point at which young people acquire them. These factors include price, tax, importation, licensing, sales practices, illicit markets, and enforcement in all of these areas.
We did not consider production subsidies, crop substitution, prohibition or rationing because we assumed for the purposes of this review that tobacco and alcohol would remain licit substances, widely produced and available for sale in a regulated global market for the foreseeable future.
We considered the question of whether people choose to use substances which have been made available to them to be a separate issue. We therefore did not consider controls on marketing, or controls on the possession or use of substances.
We did not review the evidence about non-health outcomes such as crime and disorder.
Sources of evidence
Survey evidence about availability was synthesised from the following main sources: the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use Among Young People surveys in both England and Scotland; the Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS); the British and Northern Ireland Crime Surveys; the European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD); the Eurobarometer survey; the Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime (ESYTC); and the Pre-teen Drug Misuse Study in Glasgow and Newcastle. These sources are referenced at appropriate points in the text.
Review-level evidence about the effects of interventions was identified by searching the following databases and websites using various combinations of terms for tobacco, alcohol, drugs and availability: Alcohol Studies Database, Applied Social Sciences Index and Abstracts (ASSIA), Campbell Collaboration Reviews of Interventions and Policy Evaluations (C2-RIPE), Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (CDSR), Database of Abstracts of Reviews of Effectiveness (DARE), Department of Health, Excerpta Medica Database (EMBASE), European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), ESRC Evidence Network, Alcohol and Alcohol Problems Science Database (ETOH), Health Development Agency, Health Education Board for Scotland (HEBS) Library, Home Office, Medline, National Electronic Library for Health (NeLH), NHS Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, PsycInfo, Science and Social Science Citation Indices, Scottish Executive, US Task Force on Community Preventive Services. A list of all the search terms used is available from the first author on request. This search was augmented with other more specific searches where necessary.
Posted as supplied by author.
ADDITIONAL References FOR BMJ.COM
w1 Crome I, Ghodse H, Gilvarry E, McArdle P, editors. Young people and substance misuse. London: Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2004.
w2 Consumer price indices May 2004: CPI and RPI briefing notes. London: Office for National Statistics, 2004.
w3 Measuring indirect tax losses. London: HM Customs and Excise, 2002.
w4 West P, Sweeting H. A review of young people's health and health behaviours in Scotland. Glasgow: MRC Social and Public Health Sciences Unit, 2002.
w5 Forster J, Wolfson M. Youth access to tobacco: policies and politics. Annu Rev Public Health 1998;19:203-35.
w6 Boreham R, Shaw A, editors. Smoking, drinking and drug use among young people in Scotland in 2000. Edinburgh: Stationery Office, 2001.
w7 Smith D, McVie S, Woodward R, Shute J, Flint J, McAra L. The Edinburgh Study of Youth Transitions and Crime: key findings at ages 12 and 13. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh, 2001.
w8 Turner K, Gordon J, Young R. Cigarette access and pupil smoking rates: a circular relationship? Health Promot Int 2004;19:428-36.
w9 Jha P, Chaloupka F. Curbing the epidemic: governments and the economics of tobacco control. Washington, DC: World Bank, 1999.
w10 Chaloupka F, Hu T-W, Warner K, Jacobs R, Yurekli A. The taxation of tobacco products. In: Jha P, Chaloupka F, editors. Tobacco control in developing countries. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
w11 World health report 2002: reducing risks, extending healthy life. Geneva: World Health Organization, 2002.
w12 Lantz P, Jacobson P, Warner K, Wasserman J, Pollack H, Berson J et al. Investing in youth tobacco control: a review of smoking prevention and control strategies. Tob Control 2000;9:47-63.
w13 Tauras J, O'Malley P, Johnston L. Effects of price and access laws on teenage smoking initiation: a national longitudinal analysis. Chicago: University of Illinois, 2001.
w14 Townsend J, Roderick P, Cooper J. Cigarette smoking by socioeconomic group, sex, and age: effects of price, income and health publicity. BMJ 1994;309:923-7.
w15 Townsend J. Price and consumption of tobacco. Br Med Bull 1996;52:132-42.
w16 Woollery T, Asma S, Sharp D. Clean indoor-air laws and youth access restrictions. In: Jha P, Chaloupka F, editors. Tobacco control in developing countries. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000.
w17 Levy D, Friend K. Strategies for reducing youth access to tobacco: a framework for understanding empirical findings on youth access policies. Drug Educ Prev Polic 2002;9:285-301.
w18 Di Franza J. Youth access: the baby and the bath water. Tob Control 2000;9:120-1.
w19 Tobacco taxation and smuggling in Scotland. Edinburgh: ASH Scotland, 2001.
w20 Measuring and tackling indirect tax losses: an update of the Government’s strategic approach. London: HM Customs and Excise, 2003.
w21 Joossens L. Smuggling and cross-border shopping of tobacco products in the European Union. London: Health Education Authority, 1999.
w22 Prime Minister's Strategy Unit. Strategy Unit alcohol harm reduction project: interim analytical report. London: Cabinet Office, 2003.
w23 Wright L. Young people and alcohol: what 11- to 24-year-olds know, think and do. A literature review. London: Health Education Authority, 1999.
w24 Bradshaw P. Underage drinking and the illegal purchase of alcohol. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive, 2003.
w25 Babor T, Caetano P, Casswell S, Edwards G, Giesbrecht N, Graham K et al. Alcohol: no ordinary commodity. Research and public policy. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.
w26 Moskowitz J. The primary prevention of alcohol problems: a critical review of the research literature. J Stud Alcohol 1989;50:54-88.
w27 Rehn N, Room R, Edwards G. Alcohol in the European region — consumption, harm and policies. Copenhagen: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2001.
w28 Secretary of Health and Human Services. Tenth special report to the US Congress on alcohol and health. Washington, DC: US Department of Health and Human Services, 2000.
w29 Smart R, Goodstadt M. Effects of reducing the legal alcohol-purchasing age on drinking and driving problems: a review of empirical studies. J Stud Alcohol 1977;38:1313-23.
w30 Møller L. Legal restrictions resulted in a reduction of alcohol consumption among young people in Denmark. In: Room R, editor. The effects of Nordic alcohol policies: what happens to drinking and harm when alcohol controls change? Helsinki: Nordic Council for Alcohol and Drug Research, 2002.
w31 Boreham R, Shaw A, editors. Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2001: summary of key findings. Norwich: Stationery Office, 2002.
w32 McMullan S, Kerr H. Experience of drug misuse: findings from the 2001 Northern Ireland Crime Survey. Belfast: Northern Ireland Office, 2003.
w33 Aust R, Sharp C, Goulden C. Prevalence of drug use: key findings from the 2001/2002 British Crime Survey. London: Home Office, 2002.
w34 UK threat assessment: the threat from serious and organised crime 2003. London: National Criminal Intelligence Service, 2003.
w35 House of Commons Northern Ireland Affairs Committee. The illegal drugs trade and drug culture in Northern Ireland. London: Stationery Office, 2003.
w36 Lupton R, Wilson A, May T, Warburton H, Turnbull P. A rock and a hard place: drug markets in deprived neighbourhoods. London: Home Office, 2002.
w37 Pudney S. The road to ruin? Sequences of initiation into drug use and offending by young people in Britain. London: Home Office, 2002.
w38 National Centre for Social Research, National Foundation for Educational Research. Drug use, smoking and drinking among young people in England in 2003: headline figures. London: Department of Health, 2004.
w39 Currie C, Corbett J, Currie D, Akhtar P. Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey 2004: interim report. Edinburgh: Child and Adolescent Health Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, 2004.
w40 Hayward B, Alty C, Pearson S, Martin C. Young people and ICT 2002: findings from a survey conducted in October 2002. London: Department for Education and Skills, 2003.
w41 Office for National Statistics. Social Trends 34. London: Stationery Office, 2004.
w42 National Drug Intelligence Center. Information bulletin: drugs, youth, and the internet. Johnstown, PA: US Department of Justice, 2002.
w43 Forman R. Availability of opioids on the internet. JAMA 2003;290:889.
w44 National Centre on Addiction and Substance Abuse. "You've got drugs!" Prescription drug pushers on the internet. New York City: Columbia University, 2004.
w45 Halpern J, Pope H. Hallucinogens on the internet: a vast new source of underground drug information. Am J Psych 2001;158:481-3.
w46 National Drug Intelligence Center. National drug threat assessment 2001 — the domestic perspective. Johnstown, PA: US Department of Justice, 2000.
w47 Ketelaars T, van Laar M, van Gageldonk A, Cruts A. Report to the EMCDDA by the Reitox National Focal Point: the Netherlands drug situation 2002. Utrecht: Trimbos Institute, 2002.
w48 Williams J. The effects of price and policy on marijuana use: what can be learned from the Australian experience? Health Econ 2004;13:123-37.
w49 Stolzenberg L, D'Alessio S. A multilevel analysis of the effect of cocaine price on cocaine use among arrestees. J Crim Just 2003;31:185-95.
w50 Caulkins J. Drug prices and emergency department mentions for cocaine and heroin. Am J Public Health 2001;91:1446-8.
w51 Coope S, Bland N. Reducing the impact of local drug markets: a research review. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive, 2004.
w52 Licensing (Scotland) Bill. Edinburgh: Scottish Executive, 2005.
w53 Day C, Topp L, Rouen D, Darke S, Hall W, Dolan K. Decreased heroin availability in Sydney in early 2001. Addiction 2003;98:93-5.
w54 Smithson M, McFadden M, Mwesigye S-E, Casey T. The impact of illicit drug supply reduction on health and social outcomes: the heroin shortage in the Australian Capital Territory. Addiction 2004;98:340-8.
w55 Topp L, Day C, Degenhardt L. Changes in patterns of drug injection concurrent with a sustained reduction in the availability of heroin in Australia. Drug Alcohol Depen 2003;70:275-86.
w56 Weatherburn D, Jones C, Freeman K, Makkai T. Supply control and harm reduction: lessons from the Australian heroin 'drought'. Addiction 2003;98:83-91.
w57 Wood E, Tyndall M, Spittal P, Li K, Anis A, Hogg R et al. Impact of supply-side policies for control of illicit drugs in the face of the AIDS and overdose epidemics: investigation of a massive heroin seizure. Can Med Assoc J 2003;168:165-9.
w58 MacCoun R, Reuter P. Evaluating alternative cannabis regimes. Br J Psych 2001;178:123-8.
w59 Reinarman C, Cohen P, Kaal H. The limited relevance of drug policy: cannabis in Amsterdam and in San Francisco. Am J Public Health 2004;94:836-42.
w60 Higgins K, Percy A, McCrystal P. Secular trends in substance use: the conflict and young people in Northern Ireland. J Soc Issues 2004;60:485-506.
w61 Esmail A, Anderson H, Ramsey J, Taylor J, Pottier A. Controlling deaths from volatile substance abuse in under 18s: the effects of legislation. BMJ 1992;305:692.
w62 Field-Smith M, Butland B, Ramsey J, Anderson H. Trends in deaths associated with abuse of volatile substances: report no. 17. London: St George’s Hospital Medical School, 2004.
w63 Independent Drug Monitoring Unit. Drug prices. http://www.idmu.co.uk/prices.htm (accessed 6 December 2004).
Related articles
- Education And Debate Published: 14 October 2000; BMJ 321 doi:10.1136/bmj.321.7266.947
- Editorial Published: 15 April 2004; BMJ 328 doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7445.906
See more
- Return of the “firm” gets cautious welcomeBMJ December 07, 2016, 355 i6556; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i6556
- NHS hospitals must help patients quit smoking, says British Thoracic SocietyBMJ December 07, 2016, 355 i6571; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i6571
- US to ban smoking in public housingBMJ December 06, 2016, 355 i6562; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i6562
- Advice on sugar and starch is urged in type 2 diabetes counsellingBMJ December 06, 2016, 355 i6543; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i6543
- Evidence review ordered by government backs minimum alcohol pricingBMJ December 05, 2016, 355 i6546; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.i6546
Cited by...
- Socioeconomic position and early adolescent smoking development: evidence from the British Youth Panel Survey (1994-2008)
- Factors associated with suspected drug-facilitated sexual assault
- Population tobacco control interventions and their effects on social inequalities in smoking: systematic review