Few States Enforce Ban on Tobacco Sales to Children

Most states have not tried to enforce their own bans on tobacco sales to children, despite legislation that could strip them of millions of dollars in federal aid for ignoring violations of the laws, a new government report says.

A survey by the Inspector General’s Office of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services found that a majority of states and U.S. territories do not enforce laws against sales of tobacco to youths under 18--although local authorities have prosecuted violators in some states.

“Many states and federal health officials have dropped the ball on this critical public health issue,” said Rep. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), who requested the study, in a letter Tuesday to Donna Shalala, health and human services secretary.

Studies have shown that most smokers became hooked as minors, many by the age of 16. According to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, as many as 1 million American youths start smoking each year.

Legislation passed in 1992 required states to boost enforcement efforts or lose up to 40% of their annual federal grants for substance abuse and treatment. These grants range from a few million dollars each for small states to about $160 million for California.

California was among those without a statewide enforcement program, but state health officials are in the process of setting one up.

Under legislation signed last September, state health officials are hiring inspectors and will recruit a cadre of 15- and 16-year-olds who will seek out violators by attempting to buy tobacco products.

The law provides for civil penalties ranging from $200 up to $6,000 for five-time offenders. That--and the fact that fines are assessed against store owners “rather than the low-paid clerk”--makes the new state law “one of the strongest and best laws in the nation,” said April Roeseler, chief of local programs for the state Health Services Department’s tobacco control program.

The Inspector General’s Office surveyed the 50 states, the District of Columbia and three U.S. territories by phone last November, basing its findings entirely on those interviews.