Youth Access Tobacco Enforcement Program Annual Report October 1, 2005 - September 30, 2006 TobaccoSales To Youth New York State Department of Health Questions or requests for additional copies of this report: New York State Department of Health Bureau of Community Environmental Health & Food Protection Tobacco Enforcement Program Flanigan Square, Room 515 547 River Street Troy, NY 12180-2216 Telephone: (518) 402-7600 or 1 (800) 458-1158, ext. 27600 Fax: (518) 402-7609 This annual report of the New York State Department of Health (NYS DOH) Youth Access Tobacco Enforcement Program is prepared in accordance with Section 1399-kk of the Public Health law and is submitted by the Commissioner of Health to the Governor and the Legislature. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Special thanks go to the local health department enforcement officers, the New York City Department of Consumer Affairs and the youth who participated in the access compliance check surveillance program. For over nine years these dedicated agencies and individuals have been the leaders in the state’s effort to increase retailer compliance with the public health law in our communities. Staff of the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Community Environmental Health and Food Protection Tobacco Enforcement Program prepared this report with data provided from the local enforcement officers, other state agencies and programs within the Department of Health. The New York State Department of Health’s Tobacco Control Program and the New York State Education Department supplied information regarding tobacco use and trends among minors. The State Department of Taxation and Finance provided registration and revenue data. The Department of State’s Office of Fire Prevention and Control supplied data regarding fires. TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 1 PROGRAM OVERVIEW………………………………………………………………………. 3 PROGRAM PURPOSE ………………………………………………………………………… 4 STATUS AND ACCOMPLISHMENTS …………………………………………………….… 4 APPENDICES …………………………………………………………………………………… 9 APPENDIX 1: Number and Type of Investigations, October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006 APPENDIX 2: Penalized Tobacco Retailers and Vendors, October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006 APPENDIX 3: Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) Comparison – NYS Results for 1999, 2003 and 2005 APPENDIX 4: 2006 National Youth Tobacco Survey - New York State Results APPENDIX 5: Allocation of Tobacco Enforcement Program Funding, October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006 APPENDIX 6: New York State Fire Reporting System Tobacco Related Fire Statistics, October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006 PREFACE The purpose of New York’s Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act is to promote and protect the public health of New Yorkers by reducing children’s access to cigarettes and other tobacco products. It has been well documented that most smokers begin before they are 18 years old and half before they are 15. Many people who start smoking as youth find it nearly impossible to quit during their lifetime. The Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act requires retailers to obtain positive proof that the person buying cigarettes is over the age of 18. Retailers found in violation of this law are subject to fines, and loss of their tobacco registration and lottery license for repeated violations. The law also limits the location of vending machines and limits the venues in which free tobacco products can be distributed. These enforcement measures are aimed at making tobacco products less accessible to minors, and are a part of the State's $85 million comprehensive anti-smoking program. This Annual Report is prepared by the Tobacco Enforcement Program, which is located in the New York State Department of Health’s Center for Environmental Health. The report covers the time period of October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006, and includes the following information: Number of tobacco compliance checks that were conducted; Names and addresses of tobacco vendors who sold tobacco products to underage youth and were penalized; New York State Results of the 2006 National Youth Tobacco Survey; Tobacco sales data from the State Department of Taxation and Finance; and Tobacco related fire injury data from the Department of State’s Fire Reporting System. During the 2005 – 2006 program year, state and local enforcement officers conducted over 40,000 inspections of tobacco retailers to assess compliance with the State’s Public Health Law (Adolescent Tobacco use Prevention Act). Of these inspections, nearly 30,000 included unannounced compliance checks where minors attempted to purchase tobacco under the direct supervision of the enforcement official. Over 10,000 additional visits were made to determine compliance with Department of Health signage requirements and Department of Taxation and Finance registration requirements, to educate retailers of the Public Health Law, to verify vending machine supervision and location compliance, and/or to investigate complaints. Three thousand two hundred ten enforcement actions were taken for sales of tobacco products to minors and over $2.5 million in fines were assessed. In the last nine years (1997-2006) state grants totaling over $30 million were awarded to local enforcement officials to implement the Tobacco Enforcement Program which resulted in a decline in the rate of non-compliance by retailers from 19 percent to 10 percent. From 1997 to 2006, more than $20 million in fines have been levied against 27,618 retailers for selling tobacco to minors. The Department of Taxation and Finance has suspended the registrations of 854 tobacco retailers as a result of multiple enforcement actions for selling tobacco to underage youth. There were also 237 lottery agent licenses suspended for six months for multiple sales to minors. Of the 338,154 compliance inspections that have taken place during the nine years, 234,975 were conducted with the assistance of minors attempting to purchase tobacco products. Questions concerning this report should be referred to the New York State Department of Health’s Bureau of Community Environmental Health and Food Protection, Tobacco Enforcement Program at (518) 402-7600 or 1-800-458-1158, extension 2-7600. 1 2 New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) Center for Environmental Health Youth Access Tobacco Enforcement Program Annual Report October 1, 2005 – September 30, 2006 Program Overview In September 2006, the New York State Department of Health completed its ninth program year of tobacco access enforcement statewide. As part of the State’s continued commitment to preventing youth access to tobacco, $5.8 million was distributed during this ninth year to local enforcement officers to determine retail tobacco vendor compliance with Article 13-F of the Public Health Law, also known as the Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act (ATUPA). The ATUPA enforcement program is part of the State's $85 million anti-smoking and tobacco control initiative. From October 1997 through September 2006, New York State awarded over $30 million in funding to partners at the local level in the fight to keep tobacco products away from New York’s children. The State's $85 million anti-smoking campaign also includes: Community Mobilization – 29 community partnerships provide services in every county of the State and specifically work to denormalize tobacco use and support and promote a tobacco free norm. Partnerships engage local stakeholders, educate community leaders and the public, and mobilize the community to strengthen tobacco- related policies to restrict the use and availability of tobacco products and limit opportunities for exposure to secondhand smoke. Community partnerships work with local businesses, employers, work places, health care institutions and providers, and schools and community groups to implement effective tobacco-free policies, change public opinion about tobacco and tobacco use, and promote access to cessation services for those who desire assistance to stop smoking. Community partnerships have been successful in promoting initiatives to strengthen clean indoor air laws, product placement laws, tobacco advertising restrictions, and youth access laws and penalties. Partnerships have implemented multi-media campaigns, school and community events as well as other activities to inform, educate, engage and empower the general population in order to decrease the social acceptability of tobacco use. 3 46 Youth Action Programs involve young people in every county in the anti-tobacco movement. Youth receive extensive training about tobacco-related issues, advocacy and social norm change and they take action to expose the deceptive marketing strategies of the tobacco industry and reduce the social acceptability of tobacco use. Branded under the name Reality Check, program initiatives have included exposing the deceptive marketing tactics of the tobacco industry, promoting positive modeling in the entertainment industry; designing and conducting attitude and behavior surveys; community mapping of industry advertising practices; community education linked to social action; and media advocacy. In addition, 32 School Policy partners are funded to facilitate tobacco-free policies in secondary schools and school districts throughout the state. 19 Cessation Centers throughout the state work with health care organizations and providers in their communities to establish systems that diagnose tobacco dependence and remind the clinician to advise the patient to quit and provide the assistance necessary to quit successfully. The use