Growing Up Tobacco Free Preventing Nicotine Addiction in Children and Youths (1994) / Chapter Skim
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7 YOUTH ACCESS TO TOBACCO PRODUCTS
7 YOUTH ACCESS TO TOBACCO PRODUCTS
Pages 199-230
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From page 199... ...
Therefore, reducing youth access to tobacco products must be an essential component of any coherent strategy to prevent nicotine addiction in children and youths, and thereby to reduce the number of deaths from smoking-related diseases. In the United States, the law's potential for reducing access and consumption has not been realized.
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From page 200... ...
Often, these concerns were moralistic, intertwining the health effects of tobacco with arguments regarding the character of tobacco users.8 In 1937, a federal court found that a local ban on cigarette vending machines was justified to prevent "the evil .
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From page 201... ...
Several other states rescinded their youth access laws during the 1960s as part of a general overhaul of juvenile codes.~° The approach to tobacco use as a public health issue began during the 1970s, but enforcement of youth access laws was still generally regarded as a low priority. In 1989, the surgeon general's report stated that in marked contrast to the trends in virtually all other areas of smoking control policy, the number of legal restrictions on children's access to tobacco products had actually decreased over the past quarter century.
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From page 202... ...
, merchant education, posting of warning signs, increased penalties, and increased sales prices. In 1992, 52 localities were actively enforcing state or local youth access laws.24 In Minnesota, dozens of communities throughout the state have passed ordinances restricting minors' access to vending machines.
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From page 203... ...
The resulting report, Youth Access to Cigarettes, found that, despite laws in 45 states restricting sale of tobacco products to minors, state and local officials generally were not enforcing those laws.30 The report suggested that state governments and most communities have not considered en
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From page 204... ...
a ban on vending machines. The model law did not address penalties on possession by minors, the earmarking of revenues for enforcement, preemption of local ordinances, or the use of minors in compliance checks ("stings"~.
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From page 205... ...
(3) The states must implement other "well-designed procedures" for reducing the likelihood or prevalence of violations, such as a tobacco sales licensing system similar to the alcohol licensing system, a graduated schedule of penalties for illegal sales culminating in loss of license, controls on tobacco vending machines, publication of the names of outlets making illegal sales, or use of local enforcement to supplement central enforcement.
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From page 206... ...
Even if underage access to tobacco products in commercial channels is significantly reduced, to what extent will underage consumers still be able to obtain tobacco products through other channels, for example, from older consumers or on a "gray" market? The answers are not definitive at this time, but there are preliminary indications that making it more difficult for minors to purchase tobacco may substantially reduce consumption.
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From page 207... ...
to use its spending power to induce states to adopt and implement state plans for tobacco control, including specific plans for enforcing access restrictions. In many respects, the Synar Amendment and its implementing regulations represent a valuable exercise of federal authority.
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From page 208... ...
The relation between state and local authority is a second source of concern about the potential success of efforts to curtail youth access to tobacco products. The Synar Amendment properly locates ultimate responsibility for enacting and implementing youth access laws at the state level.
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From page 209... ...
In most cases, the courts have upheld the ordinances.42 However, in some cases, communities have found their public health regulation efforts to control vending machines thwarted by interpretations of state laws with weaker provisions. For example, the Maryland Court of Appeals found that, although state laws did not explicitly address the placement of cigarette vending machines, state licensing and taxation of the vending machines preempted local ordinances restricting the location of vending machines.43 Therefore, to protect the Derogative of local communities to adopt more restrictive measures, state governments must be explicit regarding" their intent not to preempt.
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From page 210... ...
The aim of a tobacco retailer licensing program is to monitor compliance with restrictions on youth access without disrupting legitimate tobacco sales. Retailer licensing programs require a merchant to obtain a license to sell tobacco products, which may be suspended or revoked if the merchant sells tobacco to minors or violates other state and local laws designed to reduce youth access.
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From page 211... ...
States should establish a licensing system requiring merchants to obtain a license to sell tobacco products, which may be suspended or revoked if the merchant sells tobacco to minors or violates other state and local laws designed to reduce youth access.
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From page 212... ...
According to a survey conducted by the American Cancer Society, a ban on cigarette vending machines is the most popular type of smoking restriction among American voters: 73~o of voters, including 66% of all smokers, reported that they would favor banning cigarette vending machines because of concern with children's easy access to the machines.58 Indeed, the recent OIG report on youth access laws points out that restrictions on vending machines are the most common youth access measures, adopted by 21 states and Washington, D.C.s9 As of July 1993, about 170 communities across the country have adopted ordinances eliminating or severely restricting cigarette vending machines. These ordinances are a step toward meeting the national Healthy People 2000 goals, which call for the elimination of vending machines to reduce the availability of tobacco products to children.
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From page 213... ...
Locking devices, which prevent purchase unless deactivated by an employee, do not effectively prevent youth access to vending machines.60 Proponents of the use of locking devices argue that they render vending machine sales functionally equivalent to over-the-counter sales by requiring the assistance of a clerk. However, experience with locking devices has demonstrated that, although fewer cigarettes are sold to youths than where vending machines are completely unrestricted, businesses that installed locking devices on vending machines were still more likely to sell cigarettes to minors than businesses that used over-the-counter sales.6i Locking devices entail a greater enforcement burden than complete bans.
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From page 214... ...
In a University of Minnesota study, minors successfully purchased cigarettes from vending machines, even in "adult" establishments, 79% of the time.64 A Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, study designed to measure the degree of retailer compliance with youth access laws found that underage buyers successfully purchased tobacco from vending machines in taverns 52% of the time, suggesting that bars could provide a source of tobacco to those young people bold enough to enter them.65 In an Australian study, children were able to enter places traditionally restricted to adults? such as hotel bars, and were able to purchase tobacco without restriction on every occasion.66 In a Springfield, Massachusetts, compliance check conducted by STAT (Stop Teenage Addiction to Tobacco)
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From page 215... ...
States should prohibit the sale of tobacco products by self-service displays. During compliance checks, authorities should verify that tobacco is being sold only from behind the counter or from locked cases.
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From page 216... ...
In a survey of underage youths in Chicago, about half of the elementary and high school students and 28% of college students said they had witnessed the distribution of free tobacco products to minors; 14% of elementary and high school students reported that they had personally received free samples.76 Although most states prohibit the distribution of free samples to minors, monitoring the enforcement of these statutes presents practical difficulties for law enforcement officials, who may feel that their limited resources are better spent enforcing other laws. Nor is the tobacco industry's voluntary code effective.
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From page 217... ...
Distribution of free tobacco products in public places or through the mail should be prohibited. Foster Community Action to Monitor and Encourage Compliance Develop Merchant Education Programs.
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From page 218... ...
companies that have the highest overall retail sales and that sell tobacco found that the executives tended to underestimate the extent of youth access. Merchant education programs can make the requirements more palatable to retailers by facilitating their recognition that, as businesses dependent on the good will of the community, it is to their commercial advantage to support community goals to prevent nicotine addiction in children and youths.
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From page 219... ...
A youth access plan should foster a community norm that disapproves of youth access to tobacco products. Such a norm can be communicated through mechanisms for community participation in enforcement.
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From page 220... ...
Community education and merchant education are important, but insufficient to reduce tobacco sales to minors. Active enforcement has been shown to be the most effective means to achieve long-term compliance with youth access restrictions.97 For example, in the King County, Washington, study mentioned above two years after an ordinance was enacted requiring compliance checks of retailers the rate of successful purchase by underage buyers dropped to 7%.
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From page 221... ...
Historically, the most successful enforcement has occurred on the local level. However, by holding the states responsible for reducing tobacco sales to minors, the Synar Amendment prods the states to establish a centrally administered enforcement mechanism with a clearly designated enforcement agency at the state level.
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From page 222... ...
imposing penalties on minors for buying, possessing, or using tobacco products is controversial. At least 21 states currently prohibit smoking and the use of tobacco products by minors.
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From page 223... ...
Legal penalties should not be imposed on youths who are able to obtain tobacco products; existing legal penalties on minors should be repealed. Youth access plans should not impose criminal penalties on licensees who sell tobacco to minors.
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From page 224... ...
In the meantime, however, two steps in the direction of outlet control would have special symbolic importance: banning tobacco sales within a prescribed distance of schools and banning sales in pharmacies would help to reinforce the changing normative climate toward tobacco use by young people. Tobacco-Free Zones Near Schools Convenient availability of tobacco products to children and youths has sent them mixed messages and has undermined health promotion efforts by schools
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From page 225... ...
As of October 1993, more than 60 pharmacies were participating in the program.~07 In Canada, health advocates have also had some success in convincing a number of pharmacies to stop selling tobacco and have lobbied colleges of pharmacy to preclude the sale of tobacco products in their ethical codes. The province of Ontario is considering legislation that would prohibit tobacco sales in pharmacies.
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From page 226... ...
It should be noted, however, that coupons are usually redeemed at retail for tobacco products, and that retailer compliance with youth access restrictions can be monitored and enforced regardless of whether the distribution involves a coupon redemption or a cash purchase. By contrast, redemption of coupons through the mail typically involves promotional items such as t-shirts and other articles.
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From page 227... ...
"Model Sale of Tobacco Products to Minors Control Act: A Model Law Recommended for Adoption by States or Localities to Prevent the Sale of Tobacco Products to Minors." May 24, 1990; and DiFranza, Joseph R., and Joe B
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From page 228... ...
"Report of the Tobacco Policy Research Study Group on Access to Tobacco Products in the United States." Tobacco Control 1 (1992)
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From page 229... ...
"Locking Devices on Cigarette Vending Machines: Evaluation of a City Ordinance." American Journal of Public Health 82:9 (1992)
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From page 230... ...
Fortmann. "Policy Alternatives for Reducing Tobacco Sales to Minors: Results from a National Survey of Retail Chain and Franchise Stores." Journal of Public Health Policy 13:3 (1992)
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