Youth caught in violation of tobacco purchase, use, and possession laws: education versus fines.

Each day, thousands of children are caught for violation of tobacco purchase, use, and possession (PUP) laws. Little is known about their impact on violators; we do not know how the youth who are caught perceive these consequences or the effects they have on their tobacco use. Moreover, many communities are beginning to use brief tobacco education programs as a diversion from the normal processing of PUP law violators (i.e., fining the youth violator) without knowing the consequences of these classes. Consequently, it is important to review the literature and studies that have evaluated the effects of civic fines versus tobacco education as a consequence for PUP law violations. A consolidation of this information along with a presentation of pilot data on this issue might suggest areas of needed future research as well as help policy officials make decisions about best practices in their communities regarding these types of laws.