Limiting tobacco sales to adult-only shops to protect young people
Official title: Modeling the impact of age restricted in-person location policies for youth tobacco use
Funded at Ohio State University · NIH-11161563 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project uses computer models to see if allowing tobacco sales only in tobacco shops or other adult-only stores could cut tobacco access and exposure for teens and young adults.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Ohio State University NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Columbus, UNITED STATES) |
| Project start | September 1, 2023 |
| Project end | August 31, 2028 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $625,530 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA273206-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11161563 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants include adolescents and young adults who live in communities with high tobacco retailer density or who currently encounter tobacco retail environments frequently.
✕Less likely to help
People whose tobacco access is primarily online or through social sources, or older adults not affected by retailer locations, are less likely to benefit directly from this work.
What this research studies
If you are a teen or young adult, this work looks at whether restricting tobacco sales to adult-only retailers would reduce the number of places selling tobacco near where you live and the stores you most often encounter. The team will map current tobacco retailer locations and simulate how retailer density and youth “focal retailers” would change under the policy. The models will estimate possible effects on youth tobacco use and consider whether young people might get tobacco from other sources instead. The research will also compare effects across neighborhoods to see whether the policy could shrink or widen current differences in exposure.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could support policies that reduce youth exposure to tobacco and lower tobacco use rates, especially in neighborhoods with many retailers.
How similar studies have gone: Prior studies link lower retailer density to reduced youth tobacco use, but age-restricted in-person location policies are a newer idea and large-scale modeling evidence is limited.
Where this research is happening
-
Ohio State University
Columbus, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Roberts, Megan Eleanor — Ohio State University
- Study coordinator: Roberts, Megan Eleanor
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.