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 FFY
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 a 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.
Enacted in 1992, the Synar Amendment
is named for the late U.S. Representative
Mike Synar of Oklahoma. The full report
is available on the SAMHSA Web site
at http://prevention.samhsa.gov/
tobacco/synarreportfy2007.pdf. 
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Synar Retailer Violation Rates (FFY
2007)
| State Name |
Target
|
Reported |
| Alabama |
20.0% |
11.2% |
| Alaska |
20.0% |
13.6% |
| Arizona |
20.0% |
14.6% |
| Arkansas |
20.0% |
4.7% |
| California |
20.0% |
13.2% |
| Colorado |
20.0% |
7.2% |
| Connecticut |
20.0% |
11.4% |
| Delaware |
20.0% |
5.0% |
| District of Columbia |
20.0% |
13.9% |
| Florida |
20.0% |
8.1% |
| Georgia |
20.0% |
14.2% |
| Hawaii |
20.0% |
5.9% |
| Idaho |
20.0% |
13.2% |
| Illinois |
20.0% |
9.5% |
| Indiana |
20.0% |
9.9% |
| Iowa |
20.0% |
11.8% |
| Kansas |
20.0% |
19.9% |
| Kentucky |
20.0% |
6.3% |
| Louisiana |
20.0% |
4.7% |
| Maine |
20.0% |
5.8% |
| Maryland |
20.0% |
9.5% |
| Massachusetts |
20.0% |
22.7% |
| Michigan |
20.0% |
14.5% |
| Minnesota |
20.0% |
9.5% |
| Mississippi |
20.0% |
3.2% |
| Missouri |
20.0% |
6.3% |
| Montana |
20.0% |
8.8% |
| Nebraska |
20.0% |
14.5% |
| Nevada |
20.0% |
16.4% |
| New Hampshire |
20.0% |
11.9% |
| New Jersey |
20.0% |
11.2% |
| New Mexico |
20.0% |
9.3% |
| New York |
20.0% |
9.2% |
| North Carolina |
20.0% |
10.3% |
| North Dakota |
20.0% |
10.1% |
| Ohio |
20.0% |
11.6% |
| Oklahoma |
20.0% |
9.0% |
| Oregon |
20.0% |
11.0% |
| Pennsylvania |
20.0% |
7.0% |
| Rhode Island |
20.0% |
8.0% |
| South Carolina |
20.0% |
12.3% |
| South Dakota |
20.0% |
15.6% |
| Tennessee |
20.0% |
16.3% |
| Texas |
20.0% |
7.2% |
| Utah |
20.0% |
9.9% |
| Vermont |
20.0% |
10.7% |
| Virginia |
20.0% |
10.0% |
| Washington |
20.0% |
5.2% |
| West Virginia |
20.0% |
16.9% |
| Wisconsin |
20.0% |
5.5% |
| Wyoming |
20.0% |
6.5% |
See Also-Teens and Substance Use
« Parent Awareness of Youth Substance Abuse Varies
« Underage Drinking: What Parents Need To Know
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