Synar Report: Tobacco Sales to Minors at All-Time Low

by Katherine Rees

Illegal sales of tobacco products to underage youth reached an all-time low in 2007 under the Synar Amendment program, a Federal and state partnership program seeking to end illegal tobacco sales to minors. SAMHSA recently released the newest data in FY 2007 Annual Synar Reports: Youth Tobacco Sales.

Major Findings
The states and the District of Columbia have continued the downward trend of retailer violation rates (RVR), hitting 10.5 percent in 2007, the lowest national average RVR in Synar’s 11-year history. This is in stark contrast with the 1997 national RVR average of 40.1 percent.

For the second year in a row, no state was out of compliance. In 2007, Mississippi held the lowest RVR at 3.2 percent. Only 11 years ago, all but four states did not reach the 20-percent goal.

In 2007, 45 of the 51 states achieved an RVR of no more than 15.0 percent, and 26 states achieved an RVR of 10.0 percent or less. 

Synar Retailer Voilation Rates (FFY 2007)

STATE NAME                  TARGET                   REPORTED
Connecticut                   20.0%                      11.4%