SYDNEY, March 10 (Xinhua) -- An Australian study has revealed significant weaknesses in the country's tobacco control laws have left children exposed to tobacco retailing.

Despite national laws that restrict tobacco advertising, promotion and sponsorship, researchers from the University of Queensland found inconsistencies across states in how tobacco sales are regulated, with some allowing minors to sell tobacco, according to the study published on the website of the Drug and Alcohol Review on Sunday.

It also highlighted the lack of restrictions on marketing tactics, such as tobacconists using toy displays to attract customers or toy stores selling tobacco products.

Additionally, there are no regulations controlling where tobacco retailers can operate, the authors said, stressing the need for stronger laws to better protect children from exposure to tobacco sales and marketing.

The study investigated how comprehensively the current Australian regulatory framework protects children from potential exposure to tobacco marketing in retail settings.

The study identified key retailing strategies that the tobacco industry uses to target and increase the youth market, including the display of cigarettes near snacks, sweets and sugary drinks, placement of cigarette advertisements near the eye-level of children, advertisements and display of flavored cigarettes and sale of single sticks of cigarettes.

"Proximity of tobacco and products that appeal to children may lead youth to conflate the acceptability of these products with tobacco and contribute to their misperceptions of the health risks and normality of tobacco products," said the authors, calling for closing regulatory gaps to separate tobacco sales from the sale of children's products. Enditem

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