Supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation The research described in this report was supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Jacobson, Peter D. Tobacco control laws: implementation and enforcement / Peter D. Jacobson, Jeffrey Wasserman. p. cm. “Supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.” “MR-841-RWJ.” Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 0-8330-2486-8 (alk. paper) 1. Smoking—Law and legislation—United States. 2. Tobacco—Law and legislation—United States. I. Wasserman, Jeffrey. II. Title. KF3812.3.J33 1997 363.4—dc21 97-5328 CIP RAND is a nonprofit institution that helps improve public policy through research and analysis. RAND’s publications do not neces- sarily reflect the opinions or policies of its research sponsors. © Copyright 1997 RAND All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by any electronic or mechanical means (including photocopy- ing, recording, or information storage and retrieval) without permis- sion in writing from RAND. Published 1997 by RAND 1700 Main Street, P.O. Box 2138, Santa Monica, CA 90407-2138 1333 H St., N.W., Washington, D.C. 20005-4792 RAND URL: http://www.rand.org/ To order RAND documents or to obtain additional information, contact Distribution Services: Telephone: (310) 451-7002; Fax: (310) 451-6915; Internet: [email protected] PREFACE This report was developed under a grant from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Substance Abuse Policy Research Program. In this project, RAND assessed the implementation and enforcement of tobacco control laws in seven states. For tobacco control legislation to be an effective public policy approach, the implementation and enforcement of the laws must be diffused to the public, to business establishments, and to tobacco vendors. Understanding the process of diffusion, and especially barriers to enforcement or implementa- tion, will assist policymakers, legislators, and interested stakeholders in designing an effective anti-tobacco strategy. This document should therefore be of interest to federal, state, and local legislators and health policymakers; tobacco control advocates and other health care stakeholders; and health policy researchers. iii CONTENTS Preface ......................................... iii Tables.......................................... ix Summary ....................................... xi Acknowledgments................................. xxiii Chapter One INTRODUCTION .............................. 1 Background .................................. 2 The History of Regulation ...................... 2 The Political Evolution of Anti-Tobacco Legislation and Regulation ............................ 6 Research Questions............................. 18 The Policy Context............................ 18 Research Questions ........................... 19 Conceptual Approach and Hypotheses .............. 20 Organization of the Report ....................... 22 Chapter Two OVERVIEW OF THE CASE STUDIES................. 23 Case Study Methods ............................ 23 Site Selection................................ 23 Data Collection .............................. 25 Study Limitations ............................ 27 Synopses of Case Studies......................... 27 Texas...................................... 28 Arizona .................................... 30 Minnesota .................................. 33 v vi Tobacco Control Laws: Implementation and Enforcement California .................................. 36 New York State .............................. 38 Illinois..................................... 42 Florida..................................... 44 Chapter Three RESULTS .................................... 49 How Are Tobacco Control Laws Implemented and Enforced? ............................. 49 Implementation Versus Enforcement .............. 49 Clean Indoor Air Laws ......................... 49 Laws Restricting Youth Access to Tobacco .......... 53 Fragmented Enforcement Authority ............... 57 Penalizing Teens for Smoking ................... 58 Relationship Between Statewide Legislation and Local Ordinances........................... 59 Statewide Legislation and Local Ordinances: A Two-Way Street .......................... 60 Enforcement Considerations .................... 61 Synar Amendment............................ 62 The Effects of Preemption ...................... 63 Diffusion of Tobacco Control Laws Across Communities.............................. 64 Stakeholder Roles in Enforcement and Implementation .. 66 Anti-Tobacco Coalitions ....................... 66 The Tobacco Industry ......................... 70 Retail Merchants ............................. 71 Barriers to Effective Implementation and Enforcement........................... 73 Salience of the Smoking Issue ................... 73 Resource Constraints .......................... 75 Fragmented Enforcement Authority ............... 76 Ambiguous Legal Authority ..................... 76 Preemption ................................. 76 Potential Backlash ............................ 77 Chapter Four DISCUSSION ................................. 79 Relationship Between Legislative Enactment, Implementation, and Enforcement ............. 81 Contents vii Effective Enforcement Mechanisms ................. 82 Clean Indoor Air ............................. 82 Youth Access ................................ 83 Abdication of a State Strategy by Anti-Tobacco Advocates ................................ 84 Symbolic Statements and Cultural Change............ 85 Differences in Enforcing and Implementing Clean Indoor Air Regulations and Youth Access Restrictions ............................... 85 Scale and Commitment ........................ 87 Lessons Regarding Coalition Activity ................ 88 Enforcement and Implementation ............... 88 Anticipating the Industry Response ............... 91 Developing a Regional Strategy .................. 91 Policy Implications ............................. 92 Appendix A. TEXAS CASE STUDY ............................ 97 B. ARIZONA CASE STUDY .......................... 109 C. MINNESOTA CASE STUDY ....................... 121 D. CALIFORNIA CASE STUDY ....................... 133 E. NEW YORK CASE STUDY ........................ 145 F. ILLINOIS CASE STUDY .......................... 163 G. FLORIDA CASE STUDY .......................... 177 H. INTERVIEW GUIDE FOR ASSESSING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TOBACCO CONTROL LAWS .... 189 Bibliography ..................................... 195 TABLES 1.1. Summary of State Laws by State and by Type of Restriction ................................ 11 2.1. Legal Environment of Proposed Sites ............. 24 2.2. State and Local Sites Included in Analysis ......... 25 2.3. Rate of Illegal Sales of Tobacco to Minors in Arizona Cities .................................... 31 2.4. Smoking Prevalence Rates Among 10th Graders in Arizona Cities .............................. 31 B.1. Rate of Illegal Sales of Tobacco to Minors in Arizona Cities .................................... 111 B.2. Smoking Prevalence Rates Among 10th Graders in Arizona Cities .............................. 111 ix SUMMARY INTRODUCTION In recent years, many states and localities have enacted laws restrict- ing smoking in public places. Despite the large number of such laws, little empirical research has assessed the manner in which these laws are implemented and enforced. The dearth of research in this area is especially troublesome in view of several recent studies indicating that laws and ordinances restricting smoking in public places can be an effective tobacco control strategy (Wasserman et al., 1991; Chaloupka, 1988; Keeler et al., 1991), and that rigorous enforcement of youth access laws can reduce teenagers’ access to cigarettes (Feighery, Altman, and Shaffer, 1991; Jason et al., 1991). The purpose of this study is to examine, through a series of detailed case studies, the process by which tobacco control laws and ordi- nances are implemented and enforced by state and local authorities. For legislation to be an effective public policy approach, the imple- mentation and enforcement of the laws must be diffused to the pub- lic, to business establishments, and to tobacco vendors. Understand- ing the process of diffusion, and especially barriers to enforcement or implementation, will assist policymakers, legislators, and interested stakeholders in designing an effective anti-tobacco strategy. This study was designed to address the following research questions: • How are anti-tobacco laws—both those related to clean indoor air and teen access—implemented and enforced at the state and local levels? xi xii Tobacco Control Laws: Implementation and Enforcement • What is the effect of strong statewide anti-tobacco legislation on the development and implementation of local anti-tobacco ordi- nances? • What role does an anti-tobacco coalition play once statewide legislation is enacted? • What strategy has the tobacco industry adopted in response to the implementation and enforcement of anti-tobacco laws? • What are the most effective legislative/regulatory/policy strate- gies given the results of this study? We also address the following specific issues: the process by which anti-tobacco laws and ordinances are diffused throughout the com- munity; the effects of such laws in the absence of a strong enforce- ment mechanism; the relationship between statewide laws and local ordinances; the relative effectiveness of various legislative provisions, especially those limiting