Children's smoking: the shopkeepers' perspective.

A self-administered postal questionnaire was sent to 216 Bolton shopkeepers to examine their knowledge and attitudes about children's smoking. The response rate was 76%. A majority of respondents (57%) were in favour of banning cigarette advertising; this option was supported by significantly more women (73%) than men (46%), (p < 0.05). There was widespread recognition of the harmful consequences of children's smoking (97%), although the highly addictive nature of cigarettes was not as widely acknowledged (41%). Many of the shopkeepers perceived children's smoking as a normal part of growing up (49%); this view was held more frequently by shopkeepers who had smoked during their own childhood (62%). Challenging shopkeepers' acceptance of children's smoking as a normal part of growing up, and increasing their awareness about the highly addictive nature of cigarettes, may reduce their willingness to sell cigarettes to children.