The Sale of Tobacco to Minors in Yerevan: A Mixed Methods Study

Abstract

Executive Summary: Armenia accepted the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in 2004, and on December 24 of that year, a law regarding tobacco production and consumption was passed in the country, which banned the sale of tobacco products to minors. A survey conducted among schoolchildren earlier suggested that 5.6% of respondents were current smokers, of which 74.8% had purchased cigarettes in a store and 79.3% of those purchasers were not refused despite their age. This was the first study of its kind conducted since the law came into effect to determine if minors’ access to tobacco in shops had changed since then. It used a mixed methods approach, with a self-administered, anonymous survey instrument (similar to the one used in 2004) conducted in 10 Yerevan schools, with 1084 respondents as well as 10 in-depth interviews with shopkeepers exploring their knowledge of the law and the fines associated with breaking it, their experience, beliefs and practices while selling cigarettes to minors. The survey found that adults often send children to buy cigarettes for them, with 57.1% of respondents recalling buying tobacco for an adult within the past year. 53.4% of schoolchildren reported attempting to purchase tobacco in a shop within the past 30 days, of whom 87.2% were not refused sale because of their age. Additionally, 66.2% of all respondents said that it was “quite easy” or “very easy” to purchase cigarettes in a shop. In-depth interviews revealed that shopkeepers were aware that the sale of tobacco to minors was banned, although most thought this law existed long before it actually came into effect. Shopkeepers reported selling tobacco to minors when they were sure that the children were buying them for an adult and not for themselves, which they said happened often in the neighborhoods that they served. None of the interviewees recalled ever using identification or proof of age before selling to someone who looked like they may be under the legal age. The study suggests that the ban on the sale of tobacco to minors has been ineffective and there are very few barriers, if any, for a child to buy cigarettes in shops in Yerevan.