Dr. Russ Callaghan, a researcher with the Northern Medical Program at UNBC, has some new funding to study the effectiveness of a minimum age to buy tobacco.
The Canadian Institutes of Health Research Institute of Human Development, Child and Youth Health (CIHR-IHDCYH) is giving him a one-year grant worth $75,000 to look at these laws and their practicality.
“In my research assessing these minimum legal age laws, especially in the area of alcohol, what I find is that these minimum legal age laws have a very powerful effect that dampening alcohol-related harms among youth so we expect to see the same thing happen with these minimum ages for tobacco sales that those individuals, those youth just under the age will have lower patterns of smoking.”
He recognizes that there are two sides of the argument and many believe youth determined to smoke will find a way to do. If Callaghan’s thesis proves to be true, he says he’d recommend to both the provincial and federal governments to raise the minimum age to buy smokes.
“If we can demonstrate that these laws are effective then it’ll allow policymakers and the public to think about what the exact line should be whether we should keep it at the same level we have at now or to raise it to reduce youth smoking.”
Dr. Callaghan will also benefit from UNBC’s newly established Research Data Centre, which gives certified researchers access to classified Statistics Canada information.
He adds Health Canada has recently recommending bumping the minimum age to 21.
NMP researcher Dr Russ Callaghan to examine effects of minimum age on #tobacco sales, thanks to @CIHR_IRSC grant: https://t.co/UBfuMp58dF https://t.co/YkH0jOUsfq
— NorthernMedicalProg (@UBCNMP_unbc) July 6, 2017