• Rachna Chandora, Yang Song, Martine Chaussard, Krishna Mohan Palipudi, Kyung Ah Lee, Nivo Ramanandraibe, Samira Asma, and GYTS collaborative group.
• CDC Foundation, 55 Park Place, Suite 400, Atlanta, GA 30324, USA. Electronic address: rchandora@cdcfoundation.org.
• Prev Med. 2016 Oct 1; 91S: S23-S27.

ObjectiveTobacco smoking is initiated and established mostly during adolescence. The World Health Organization (WHO) Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Article 16 outlines the obligation of parties to prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors. This study examined where and how student smokers obtain cigarettes.MethodsWe examined Global Youth Tobacco Survey (GYTS) data from 2009 to 2011 on cigarette access among students aged 13-15 in six sub-Saharan African countries.ResultsIn all countries analyzed, over 20% of student smokers obtained their cigarettes in a store or shop (52.6% in South Africa, 37.7% in Republic of Congo, 28.2% in Swaziland, 27.4% in Cote d'Ivoire, 26.9% in Ghana, and 22.6% in Uganda). In Cote d'Ivoire and South Africa, 68.9% and 68.7% of student cigarette smokers, respectively, were not refused the sale of cigarettes because of age. The percentage of students who were offered free cigarettes by a tobacco company representative ranged from 4.7% in Cote d'Ivoire to 12.1% in South Africa.ConclusionsThe method of obtaining cigarettes and access to cigarettes among students varies among sub-Saharan African countries. Adopting and enforcing interventions that prevent youth from accessing tobacco products could be an effective strategy for reducing smoking initiation among youth in sub-Saharan African countries.Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Inc.

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