Tobacco retailers in Indiana are more diligent than ever in refusing to sell to minors, according to the latest data from the Tobacco Retailer Inspection Program, a joint venture of the Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University and the Indiana State Excise Police. When TRIP first initiated its program in 2000, 40 percent of retailers sold tobacco to minors. That number has dropped each year and is now down to 12.7 percent. The research is also the remedy: a study published last month in the International Journal of Consumer Studies confirmed that TRIP's random, unannounced inspections were associated with increased restriction of tobacco sales to minors.
It is illegal in Indiana for a clerk or a retail establishment to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. The fine for violating this law ranges from $50 to $500 depending on the number of prior violations the store or clerk has received. TRIP inspection teams comprised of an officer, adult assistant and youth assistant test compliance at about 300 retail outlets in each of 13 inspection districts throughout the year.
During the inspection, the youth enters the store under the observation of the adult or officer and attempts to buy a tobacco product -- usually cigarettes, but sometimes chewing tobacco if it is a popular product in the area. If the youth is successful with the purchase, the police officer issues a notice of violation to the clerk and to the store.
IU researchers in the Department of Applied Health Science and the Institute for Drug Abuse Prevention investigated the correlation between the inspections and subsequent compliance rates. They found positive associations with follow-up inspections (violations were lower on the second visit than the initial inspection) and with overall compliance among retailers over time. Their results were reported in the May 2006 issue of the International Journal of Consumer Studies: “Use of tobacco retailer inspections to reduce tobacco sales to youth: do inspections increase retailer compliance?”
Desiree Goetze, a researcher with the Indiana Prevention Resource Center , said access to tobacco is a major factor in teen smoking rates, which have also declined in recent years.
"Nearly every adult who smokes took his or her first puff at or before age 18," Goetze said. "Retailers are in a position of working the front lines of preventing youth smoking. By not selling tobacco to minors, stores are reinforcing the message to youth that tobacco is an addictive, harmful, costly product that should be avoided."
"We have made tremendous progress over the last six years in reducing the number of retail outlets willing to sell tobacco to minors," said Major Robin Poindexter of the Indiana State Excise Police. "Through education and constant enforcement, we are making a difference in youth access to tobacco."
For more information, visit the TRIP Web site at http://www.trip.indiana.edu.
