Nearly all new users of tobacco products are under 18 years of age. Keeping children from initiating tobacco use is a top priority.
Many believe that decreasing children’s ability to purchase tobacco products (over-the-counter and vending machine) will decrease the number of children of children who start smoking. Despite laws in all states prohibiting sales to youth, children report easy access to tobacco products. This is because few states adequately enforce their laws.
The federal Synar Legislation, names for its sponsor Congressman Mike Synar (deceased), requires states to reduce illegal sales of tobacco products to minors. States must conduct random, unannounced inspections of tobacco venders to assess their compliance with the law, and to report to the HHS Secretary on their findings. States must comply with the Synar requirement or risk losing a portion of their federal block grant funds for substance abuse.
Presently, there are few published evaluations of the impact of enforcement of youth access laws. The evidence suggests that, as it becomes more difficult for youth to purchase tobacco products, some will find other ways to procure them, e.g., theft, “bumming,” from friends, or asking adults to purchase for them. Enforcement of youth access laws by itself, will not solve the problem of youth smoking.
The tobacco industry’s public position is that it does not want youth to smoke. Over the years, the industry has published youth antismoking guides, run youth antismoking advertisements, and funded youth-directed antismoking programs. There is broad agreement among public health experts that these efforts are aimed at improving the industry’s dismal public image, deflecting meaningful youth programs and legislation, and serving as a defense in the courtroom. Industry-funded programs, ads, and guides focus on youth and parents’ responsibility for youth tobacco use and aim to deflect attention from the industry’s own efforts to promote youth smoking. These efforts have changed little over the years. |
