Factors associated with support for reducing and ending tobacco sales among university students in Queensland, Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

Objective: To assess the factors associated with support for reducing tobacco retail availability and ending the legal sale of cigarettes in Australia and New Zealand (NZ). Methods: Cross-sectional surveys were conducted in NZ (eight universities, n=1,932) and Queensland (University of Queensland or UQ, n=5,172). Participants were asked how much they agreed or disagreed with reducing the number of places allowed to sell cigarettes/ tobacco and ending the legal sale of cigarettes within 10 years. Multinomial logistic regression models assessed associations between support with student characteristics. Results: More than half the respondents in both samples supported reducing the number of tobacco outlets (NZ 69.3%; UQ 62.3%), and ending the legal sale of cigarettes within 10 years (NZ 53.3%; UQ 51.6%) with marginally more support among NZ students. Men and students who smoked or vaped had lower odds of supporting both strategies compared with women and non-users. Conclusions: The results suggest widespread support for reducing tobacco retail availability among university students in NZ and Queensland, and sex, and smoking and vaping status were strong predictors for support. Around half supported phasing out tobacco sales within 10 years. Implications for public health: Collaborative research should be encouraged to enhance crosscountry approaches on tobacco control.