Do stores that carry cigarettes create new smokers or do they carry cigarettes because their customers smoke? Would a nexus of comic book stores create more comic book readers? Will that work with broccoli?

A new geography paper matches smoking to store locations that carry cigarettes and correlates the two, suggesting that teenagers are much more likely to take up smoking if they live in neighborhoods with a large number of shops that sell tobacco products.

They found that adolescents with the most tobacco outlets in their neighborhood are almost 50 percent more likely to smoke than those with no outlets nearby. They also found that teenagers living in areas with the highest density of retailers are 53 percent more likely to try smoking at least once.  

Based on their findings, researchers argue that anti-smoking strategies among teenagers should include reducing the overall density of tobacco retailers. They say that limiting teenagers' access to tobacco products is vital, as long-term smoking usually begins in adolescence.

Tobacco control policies often prioritize the reduction of outlets in specific areas, such as neighborhoods near schools. However, researchers found no evidence that adolescents attending schools in areas with high numbers of tobacco shops are more likely to smoke. The analysis of Scottish teenagers examined the relationship between adolescent smoking habits and tobacco outlet density in teenagers' home and school neighborhoods.  

Teenagers living in all neighborhoods – not just those with levels of high poverty– were found to be affected. Researchers at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow created a map of tobacco retailers for every postcode in Scotland. They examined the links between the number of outlets and teenage smoking habits using responses from a survey of more than 20,000 school pupils aged between 13 and 15.  

Dr. Niamh Shortt, Senior Lecturer in Human Geography at the University of Edinburgh, who led the analysis, said, "The Scottish Government has signalled its intent for a 'tobacco-free' Scotland by 2034. Our research shows that as part of this plan we need to consider regulating the number of retailers selling tobacco in our neighborhoods."

Professor Richard Mitchell, Professor of Health and Environment at the University of Glasgow, said, "We were surprised by how strong an influence the retail environment was on teenagers' smoking behavior. The results are good news because they offer a new tool with which to try and reduce smoking rates."