Tobacco sales to
minors down on Oahu;
up on neighbor islands

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Star-Bulletin staff

Tobacco sales to minors have dropped on Oahu but have increased on the neighbor islands, the state Health Department's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division reports.

The division recently completed its sixth annual survey to monitor state compliance with a federal regulation that requires states to document a tobacco sales rate to minors below 20 percent.

States that don't comply with the Synar Regulation could lose millions of dollars in federal funds for alcohol and other drug abuse prevention and treatment services.

State Health Director Bruce Anderson said, "Overall, during the past five years, rates have dropped from 44 percent to the lowest rate of 7 percent last year. We've come a long way in reducing the sale of tobacco to minors, but this year's small rise indicates we could do more in educating our store clerks."

In this year's Synar survey, an average of 7.7 percent of stores inspected statewide sold cigarettes to minors -- up from last year's 7 percent rate.

The Honolulu rate fell from 8.3 percent last year to 7 percent this year. Maui County had an 11 percent rate -- highest in the state -- and Hawaii and Kauai each had a 10 percent rate.

Two types of inspections are conducted using teen volunteers and adult supervisors. One is to see how well the state is doing in complying with the Synar Regulation. The other is done with police assistance to enforce the state law prohibiting tobacco sales to people under age 18.

Merchants convicted of selling to minors face a mandatory $500 fine.

Youth volunteers and observers with DOH inspections tried to buy cigarettes in 221 stores. Seventeen sold tobacco to the minors for an overall noncompliance rate of 7.7 percent.

Every outlet selling tobacco also is inspected once or twice a year with youths between the ages of 15 and 17 showing identification in an attempt to buy cigarettes with an undercover police officer's supervision.

The police-assisted inspections covered 1,129 stores and found 294 selling to minors. Noncompliance rates were 24.7 percent in Honolulu, 30.6 percent on the Big Island, 27.6 percent on Kauai, and 26.5 percent on Maui. The total was 26.1 percent.

Many store clerks looked at the identification and still sold the teens tobacco.