Grant: Operating Grant: Analyses of Existing Cohorts & Databases - IHDCYH

Recently, experts from the United States and Canada concluded that raising the minimum age for tobacco sales (MATS) from 18-19 years to 21 years of age would have a substantial positive impact on public health and save lives. Both Hawaii and California implemented statewide legislation in 2016 to raise the minimum tobacco purchasing age to 21 years. Currently, MATS laws are 18 years of age in Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Québec, the Yukon and Northwest Territories, and 19 years of age in the rest of the country. It is expected that a higher minimum-age policy would significantly reduce the number of teenagers and young adults starting to smoke and, as a result, decrease both immediate and long-term smoking-related harms in society, such as tobacco-related illnesses, cancers, and deaths. Research on MATS laws in Canada is lacking, and it is critically important to evaluate the potential impacts of such Canadian policy recommendations, especially given that approximately 18% of Canadians are current smokers. The proposed project will assess the impacts of Canada's current MATS laws on youth smoking behaviour, and it will consider the possibility that MATS laws will affect males and females differently. Given the lack of research on MATS laws, especially in Canada, the study results are likely to advance health policy development and implementation in Canada and abroad. The proposed project is also important because it will directly inform a primary aim of the current Canadian Federal Tobacco Control Strategy to prevent children and youth from starting to smoke.