Minors
Access
to
Tobacco
Fact
Sheet
It
is
illegal
in
all
states
to
sell
cigarettes
to
persons
under
age
18.
Progress
has
been
made
in
the
past
several
years
in
reducing
the
percentage
of
retailers
willing
to
sell
tobacco
to
minors.1
In
1991
an
estimated
225
million
packs
of
cigarettes
were
sold
illegally
to
minors,
and
in
1997
daily
smokers
aged
12
to
17
years
smoked
approximately
924
million
packs
of
cigarettes.1
An
estimated
20%
to
70%
of
teenagers
who
smoke
report
purchasing
their
own
tobacco;
the
proportion
varies
by
age,
social
class,
amount
smoked,
and
factors
related
to
availability.1
The
CDCs
1999
Youth
Risk
Behavior
Surveillance
(YRBS)
survey
found
that
among
grade
9-12
students
who
smoked,
23.5%
purchased
their
tobacco
products
from
a
store
or
gas
station.
However,
there
is
growing
evidence
that
many
of
the
cigarettes
these
students
obtain
from
other
students
were
originally
illegally
sold
to
minors.2
According
to
the
1999
YRBS
survey,
about
two-thirds
of
students
(69.6%)
who
purchased
or
tried
to
purchase
cigarettes
during
the
past
month
in
a
store
or
gas
station
were
not
asked
to
show
proof
of
age.
African
American
male
students
(19.8%)
were
significantly
less
likely
to
be
asked
to
show
proof
of
age
than
white
(36.6%)
and
Hispanic
(53.5%)
male
students.2
The
1999
Monitoring
the
Future
Survey
found
that
about
72%
of
8th-grade
students
and
88%
of
10th-grade
students
believe
they
can
get
cigarettes
"fairly
easily"
or
"very
easily"
if
they
wanted
to
purchase
them.3
Since
1996,
the
accessibility
of
cigarettes
among
8th-grade
students
has
been
falling,
which
may
be
an
indicator
that
federal
and
state
government
tobacco
prevention
efforts
are
starting
to
have
an
effect.3
More
than
two-thirds
of
states
restrict
cigarette
vending
machines,
but
many
of
these
restrictions
are
weak.
Only
two
states
(Idaho
and
Vermont)
have
total
bans
on
vending
machines.1
Results
from
nine
published
studies
found
illegal
vending
machine
sales
to
minors
ranged
from
82%
to
100%
between
1989
and
1992.1
More
than
290
local
jurisdictions,
including
New
York
City,
successfully
adopted
and
enforced
outright
bans
on
cigarette
vending
machines
or
restricted
them
to
locations
such
as
taverns
and
adult
clubs
where
minors
often
are
denied
entry.1
Almost
two-thirds
of
the
states
and
many
local
jurisdictions
require
retailers
to
display
signs
that
state
the
minimum
age
for
purchase
of
tobacco
products.
Some
regulations
specify
the
size,
wording,
and
location
of
these
signs.1
All
states
have
a
specific
restriction
on
the
distribution
of
free
tobacco
samples
to
minors,
and
a
few
states
or
local
jurisdictions
prohibit
free
distribution
altogether
because
of
the
difficulty
of
controlling
who
receives
free
samples.1
Several
studies
have
found
that
single
or
loose
cigarettes
are
sold
in
some
locations.
Such
sales
often
are
prohibited
by
state
or
local
law,
given
single
cigarettes
do
not
display
the
required
state
tax
stamp
or
federal
health
warning.1
Other
regulations
specify
a
minimum
age
for
salespersons.
These
regulations
recognize
the
difficulty
young
salespersons
may
have
in
refusing
to
sell
cigarettes
to
their
peers.1
Many
state
or
local
laws
specify
penalties
only
for
the
sales-person.
However,
applying
penalties
to
business
owners,
who
generally
set
hiring,
training,
supervising,
and
selling
policies,
is
considered
essential
to
preventing
the
sale
of
tobacco
to
minors.1
License
suspensions
or
revocations
imposed
as
penalties
for
repeated
violation
of
youth
access
laws
would
communicate
a
clear
message
that
illegal
tobacco
sales
to
minors
should
never
be
accepted
or
tolerated.
Revenues
from
fines
could
be
used
for
enforcement
and
retailer
education
programs.1
Numerous
studies
have
shown
that
comprehensive
merchant
education
and
training
programs
help
reduce
illegal
sales
to
minors.1
Growing
number
of
states
and
local
jurisdictions
are
imposing
sanctions
against
minors
who
purchase,
attempt
to
purchase,
or
possess
tobacco
products.
Although
these
laws
are
a
potential
deterrent,
some
tobacco
control
advocates
believe
such
laws
deflect
responsibility
from
retailers
to
underage
youth.1
In
1992
the
Synar
Amendment
(Public
Law
102-321),
was
passed
to
curb
the
illegal
sale
of
tobacco
products
to
minors.
An
amended
Synar
Regulation,
was
issued
by
the
Substance
Abuse
and
Mental
Health
Services
Administration
in
January
1996,
and
requires
each
state
receiving
federal
grant
money
to
conduct
annual
random,
unannounced
inspections
of
retail
tobacco
outlets
to
assess
the
extent
of
sales
to
minors.
In
1999,
seven
states
and
the
District
of
Columbia
failed
to
attain
their
Synar
Amendment
targets.
Failure
to
comply
with
the
law
puts
states
at
risk
of
forfeiting
federal
block
grant
funds
for
substance
abuse
prevention
and
treatment
services.1
In
1996,
the
Food
and
Drug
Administration
issued
a
regulation
prohibiting
the
sale
of
tobacco
products
to
persons
under
the
age
of
18
years
and
requiring
that
all
persons
under
the
age
of
27
years
show
a
photograph
identification
to
purchase
cigarettes
or
smokeless
tobacco.
The
regulation
also
banned
cigarette
vending
machines
and
self-service
displays,
except
in
certain
venues
for
adults
only
(e.g.,
bars
and
nightclubs).
On
March
21,
2000,
the
United
States
Supreme
Court
ruled
that
the
FDA
lacked
jurisdiction
to
regulate
tobacco
products
and
to
enforce
rules
to
reduce
the
access
and
appeal
of
tobacco
products
for
children
and
adolescents.
The
loss
of
the
FDAs
education
and
enforcement
program
eliminates
vital
federal
support
for
state
tobacco
control
programs.1
The
2010
national
health
objectives
call
for
reducing
the
percentage
of
retailers
willing
to
sell
tobacco
products
to
minors
to
5%
or
less
through
enforcement
of
existing
laws.
To
date,
no
state
has
met
this
objective.4
REFERENCES
- U.S.
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services.
Reducing
Tobacco
Use:
A
Report
of
the
Surgeon
General.
Atlanta:
U.S.
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services,
Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention,
2000.
- Centers
for
Disease
Control
and
Prevention.
"Youth
Risk
Behavior
Surveillance,
United
States,
1999"
MMWR
2000
49:SS-5.
- The
University
of
Michigan.
Cigarette
Smoking
Among
American
Teens
Continues
Gradual
Decline
(press
release).
December
17,
1999.
- U.S.
Department
of
Health
and
Human
Services.
Healthy
People
2010
(Conference
edition,
in
Two
Volumes)
Washington,
DC:
January
2000.
|
