Feature
Watch the Video, Earn the Credits
Learn how to improve care transitions and prevent avoidable hospital readmissions, and pick up nursing and medical education con-ed credits.
Read more
State Enforcement of Federal Tobacco Access Law Varies
Factors influencing implementation of a law to reduce tobacco access by you
From 1993 to 1997, researchers at George Washington University assessed the extent of implementation of the federal Synar Amendment, which required states to pass and to enforce laws prohibiting the sale and distribution of tobacco products to persons under age 18, and described the factors influencing its implementation at the federal and state levels.
The project was part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Tobacco Policy Research and Evaluation Program national program.
Key Findings: The study found that:
- All states met the basic requirement that they have in place legislation restricting the sale of tobacco products to persons under age 18.
- There was substantial variation in the extent to which states vigorously pursued enforcement of the amendment.
- The researchers concluded that in the short- to mid-term, the most significant effect of the Synar Amendment, especially at the state level but at the federal level as well, was the marked increase in the interaction between tobacco control advocates and substance abuse professionals because of the amendment's effect on federal substance abuse block grants to the states.
Tobacco Policy Research and Evaluation Program Project Results
Individual project results from the RWJF national program, Tobacco Policy Research and Evaluation Program
Read the Program Results for Tobacco Policy Research and Evaluation Program View all