Strategy pioneered by the Netherlands supports ‘tobacco endgame’
In a new American Journal of Public Health editorial, College of Public Health researchers say age-restricted tobacco sales policies should be more widely considered to tackle the country’s leading cause of preventable death.
Restricting tobacco sales to adult-only locations, such as tobacco and vape shops, would reduce the number of young people who initiate tobacco use and support current users who want to quit, write CPH faculty Megan Roberts, Amy Ferketich and Micah Berman.
The authors cite the Netherlands as a trailblazer after becoming the first country to enact an age-restricted location policy. As part of a phased approach, the Netherlands prohibited tobacco sales in grocery stores in 2024 and will ban gas station and convenience store sales by 2032.
Similar policies in the United States could be a critical strategy to achieve the “tobacco endgame,” the goal of phasing out commercial tobacco products sales to near-zero.
“Though once considered an idealistic goal, there is an emerging consensus that tobacco endgame scenarios could be achieved through a combination of continued implementation of established measures, complemented by new and innovative policies,” the authors write. “Age restricted location (ARL) policies are an innovative strategy that advances this goal.”
The editorial, “Age Restricted Location Policies: A Potential Strategy for Advancing the Tobacco Endgame,” published April 9.
