title: Laying down the law: reducing illegal tobacco sales to minors in central Harlem.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  This study compared the impact of educational and enforcement interventions on retailers' sale of tobacco to minors in Central Harlem, New York.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a randomized trial with repeated measures, 152 stores were randomly divided into control, education, and enforcement groups.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall tobacco sales to 12- and 13-year-old minors at baseline (98%) were among the highest in the nation. At 6-month and 1-year follow-ups, decreases in rates of tobacco sales to minors were modest among education stores and substantial among enforcement stores.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Effective reduction of tobacco sales to minors may require ongoing enforcement measures, including fines for retailers who violate state and local laws.
authors.affiliation: Division of Sociomedical Sciences, Columbia University School of Public Health, New York, NY 10032, USA.
authors.forename: D H
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Gemson
authors.forename: H L
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Moats
authors.forename: B X
authors.initials: BX
authors.lastname: Watkins
authors.forename: M L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Ganz
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Robinson
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Healton
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009519:New York City; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D000074606:Smoking Prevention; D014505:Urban Population