United States Government Publishing Office publisher pbl distributor dst United States Government Accountability Office author aut Government Organization text government publication eng GAOREPORTS Legislative Agency Publications gao legislative 2010-08-12 U.S. Government Printing Office 2001-11-07 monographic deposited born digital 32 p. GA 1.13:GAO-02-74 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-74 P0b002ee18038679e f:d0274 DGPO 2010-08-12 2011-03-24 GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-74 machine generated eng fdlp REPORT GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-74 GAO-02-74 Health hazards Tobacco industry Teenagers Children Law enforcement Fines (penalties) Minors SAMHSA Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program Other Written Product A02429 Every day, about 3,000 young people become regular smokers. It is estimated that one-third of them will die from smoking-related diseases. If children and adolescents can be prevented from using tobacco products they are likely to remain tobacco-free for the rest of their lives. In 1992, Congress enacted legislation, known as the Synar amendment, to reduce the sale and distribution of tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18. States are required to enforce laws that prohibit tobacco sales to minors, conduct random inspections of tobacco retail or distribution outlets to estimate the level of compliance with Synar requirements, and report the results of these efforts to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The Synar amendment and regulation are the only federal requirements that seek to prohibit the sale and distribution of tobacco products to minors. Weaknesses in the states' implementation of Synar and in HHS oversight can adversely affect the quality and comparability of state-reported estimates of the percentage of retailers that violate laws prohibiting tobacco sales to minors. First, some states used inaccurate and incomplete lists of over-the-counter and vending machine tobacco outlets from which to select samples for inspection, which affect the estimated statewide violation rate. Second, states allowed the use of minors younger than 16 as inspectors, even though research suggests that using such minors can artificially lower violation rates. Third, HHS approved a few states' reported violation rates even though the rates included inspection results that were invalid because of the ages of the inspectors and the outcomes of the inspections were unknown. Fourth, HHS relied on states to validate their own inspection results with limited verification of the accuracy of state data even though the potential reduction in a state's block grant award for not meeting annual violation-rate goals could be an incentive for states to report artificially low rates. A little more than half the states reported for fiscal year 1999 that they used fines and suspension or revocation of retailers' licenses to penalize violators of youth tobacco access laws as part of their enforcement strategy. States also reported issuing warning letters and citations. HHS requires states to report evidence of actions taken to enforce state laws but does not require the use of penalties as an enforcement tool. Research shows that penalties reduce minors' access to tobacco products. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-74/html/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-74.htm https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-74/pdf/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-74.pdf GAO-02-74 https://www.govinfo.gov/app/details/GAOREPORTS-GAO-02-74 Other Written Product GAO-02-74; Synar Amendment Implementation: Quality of State Data on Reducing Youth Access to Tobacco Could Be Improved; Health hazards Tobacco industry Teenagers Children Law enforcement Fines (penalties) Minors SAMHSA Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program Public Law 102-321 Public Law 106-113