Grant: Travel Awards - Institute Community Support

Research shows neighbourhood-level inequalities in smoking prevalence. However, relatively little is known about what explains these differences. Despite the fact that young adults have the highest prevalence of smoking among all age groups and that significant smoking uptake occurs after high school, research on how features of neighbourhoods are associated with changes in smoking status in young adults is scarce. Moreover, the impact of different geographic scales on these associations has received limited attention. This study examined associations between presence of tobacco retail outlets and smoking accommodation facilities and changes in smoking status among young adults across two different geographic definitions in Montreal, Canada. A significant association between presence of tobacco retail outlets at the smaller spatial unit and change in smoking status was found: the likelihood of being a non-smoker for less than 2 yrs was significantly lower in neighbourhoods with tobacco retail outlets. These findings indicate that presence of tobacco retail at a more proximal level is associated with changes in smoking status over a 2-year period above and beyond individual socio-demographic characteristics. In light of these findings, we conclude that a full understanding of neighbourhood-level inequalities in smoking requires specific examination of a range of exposures along a variety of spatial scales