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A study published online in the journal BMC Public Health finds that states adhering to the federal government's stringent tobacco sales laws and those that impose high cigarette taxes have lower smoking rates among teenagers than states that do not, HealthDay News reports. To examine the link between compliance with tobacco sales laws and teenage smoking rates, Worcester-based University of Massachusetts Medical School researchers analyzed data from a survey of 16,244 adolescents between age 15 and age 17 on their smoking habits and compared it with state-collected data on merchant's compliance with state laws prohibiting the sale or distribution of tobacco products to minors. According to the study, the odds ratio for daily smoking among teenagers was reduced 2 percent for every 1 percent increase in merchant compliance with tobacco sales laws. Moreover, the researchers note that improved compliance with the government's cigarette sales laws between 1997 and 2003 was associated with a 20.8 percent decline in the likelihood of 10th graders smoking in 2003, even after controlling for cigarette prices, media campaigns and smoking restrictions. In addition, the study finds that a rise in cigarette price was associated with a 47 percent reduction in the odds of daily smoking. Based on the results, the researchers recommend that efforts to enforce tobacco sales laws have helped to substantially decrease teenage smoking in the United States (Gunnerson, HealthDay News, 4/17/09; DiFranza et al., BMC Public Health, 4/17/09 [subscription required]).