HomeMy WebLinkAboutA024 - 1999 Compliance Check results report, Department of Public Health 1999 Iowa Tobacco Compliance Check results Pagel of 3
Iowa De pa rtm ant of P u�bl i c Health Stephen LC.ucas
Gleason,D.o.,Director
Lucas State Office Building
PraXllCtdhg and protecOn j the d eafth of lC1i3NItno Des Moines,IA 50319-0075
515-281-5787
1999 Iowa Tobacco Compliance Check results
The Iowa Department of Public Health, Division of Substance Abuse and Health Promotion, together
with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), comprehensive substance abuse prevention agencies
and local law enforcement conducted tobacco compliance checks throughout Iowa, in the spring and
summer of 1999. The purpose of the survey was to determine the rate at which Iowa tobacco
retailers are selling tobacco products to Iowa youth. The survey was conducted to be in compliance
with section 1926 of the Public Health Service (PHS) Act regarding the sale and distribution of
tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18, also known as the Synar Law.
Using scientific methods developed by the federal Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, tobacco
retailers were selected at random from the 5,298 tobacco permit holders in all99 Iowa counties. After
selecting the sites and prior to conducting the checks, reviews were done to assure that the sites were
safe environments for the youth who were involved in the checks and that the youth were not known
by someone present in the establishment. Establishments that were checked included convenience
stores, grocery stores, gas stations, bowling alleys, department stores, restaurants, motels hotels, and
pharmacies.
Youth involved in the compliance checks were recruited and trained by comprehensive substance
abuse prevention agencies and local law enforcement. To assure consistency in the way the checks
were conducted, only youth ages 15, 16, and 17 were recruited. Both the males and females were
instructed not to alter their appearance and were asked to wear clothing, hair styles, or make-up
appropriate for their age. In addition, the youth were instructed to be truthful when asked their age or
birth date. At all times, FDA commissioned officers and/or law enforcement officials supervised the
compliance checks to help assure the safety of the youth.
Iowa's Adolescent Smoking Prevention Act makes it illegal for persons under the age of 18 to use,
possess, or purchase or attempt to purchase tobacco products. In addition, the law also prohibits the
sale of all tobacco products through a vending machine unless the machine is located in a place where
the retailer can ensure that no person younger than 18 years of age is present or permitted to enter at
any time. To help determine retailer compliance to this law, 484 tobacco compliance checks were
conducted throughout the state. It was found that tobacco permit holders were willing to sell to
underage youth 33% of the time. This is down from the high of 50% in 1995 and from the 36%
reported last year.
http://www.idph.state.ia.us/news—rel/2000/synar.htm 03/22/2000
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1999 Iowa Tobacco Compliance Check results Page 2 of 3
Five Year Compliance Rate
1999 1998 1997 1996 1995
Overall 33% 36% 27% 40% 50%
Success Rate
Some of the other survey results were:
Male clerks were less likely to sell tobacco products than were female clerks. The gender of the buyer
did not make any difference regarding the sale. These sales are shown in the following table.
Successful Purchase Attempts by Youth and Seller Gender
Male Youth Female Youth Percent Totals
Male Clerks 317/6 71 31% 31%
Female Clerks 35% 11 34% 34%
In 1999 33% of attempts to buy cigarettes were successful. There were only six attempts made to buy
smokeless tobacco of which 50% were successful. This number of attempts is too small to make
comparisons.
Success Rate by Place Attempted Purchase
Place Number of Checks IF Success Rate
General Merchandise 15 IF 25%
Grocery 54 JF737%
Convenience Store F 16 IF 50%
Convenience/Gas 171 IF 29%
Gas Station 11 36%
Drug Store IF 13 3 8%
Tobacco Store F 3 11 33%
Other 201 IF 35%
Rates of noncompliance varied by type of business from a high of 50%to a low of 25%. The results
of this are shown in the above table.
As stated earlier, these compliance checks are required under the federal Synar regulation. This law
requires states to have no greater than a 20 percent non-compliance rate by the year 2000. If this is
not obtained, the state may lose federal block grant funds for substance abuse treatment and
prevention programs. The current Iowa non-compliance rate is 33 percent with a standard deviation
of 2.0 percent. The Iowa Department of Public Health will continue to work with the federal
Department of Health and Human Services to develop a plan to have no greater than a 20 percent
http://www.idph.state.ia.us/news—rel/2000/synar.htm 03/22/2000
1999 Iowa Tobacco Compliance Check results Page 3 of 3
non-compliance rate by the year 2002.
Tobacco Preclusion Program
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