Jette Bollerup

Despite a variety of long-standing tobacco control policies in most countries, smoking remains a source of considerable economic and health costs, resulting in ongoing discussion of potential policy changes. The contribution of retail tobacco distribution to prompting, facilitating and normalising smoking has received increasing attention, but the effect of retail outlets on tobacco consumption is relatively under-researched. In particular, there

A research partnership has been forged between The Cancer Council of NSW (TCCN) and researchers at Macquarie University to investigate the influence of two relatively unexplored environmental factors on smoking behaviour in Australia: retail availability of tobacco and the presence of other people smoking in the vicinity of an individual. A diary method was used to collect what is believed to be the first publicly available detailed data on the tobacco purchase and consumption behaviour of intending quitters. The results show that after allowing for their usual level of smoking, intending quitters are more likely to smoke if there are 1) others smoking in the vicinity (with separate and additive effects for friends and/or family and other smokers) and 2) cigarettes for sale in the vicinity. The evidence generated through this research partnership will be useful in suggesting avenues for future policy and practice in the tobacco control area.