On August 28, 1996 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) took the single most comprehensive action ever taken in the United States to protect kids from tobacco. On this date it published regulations restricting the sale and distribution of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. Many Minnesota cities have ordinances that require the placement of tobacco behind the counter, ban cigarette vending machines, and hold licensed tobacco retailers accountable for illegal tobacco sales. The FDA rule adds a layer of protection for youth from tobacco addiction by complementing the strong youth access ordinances already in place in many Minnesota cities. It is important to remember that this rule will only complement state and local tobacco control efforts. Additional measures by states and communities will still be necessary to protect children from tobacco use and addiction.

The rule will go into effect in three stages. The first group of regulations goes into effect on February 28, 1997. These regulations will:
• prohibit the sale of tobacco products to persons under 18 years old; and
• require retailers to request photographic identification to verify the age of all persons less than 27 years old who attempt to purchase tobacco products.
August 28, 1997 is the effective date for the second set of provisions. This group of regulations will:
• ban vending machines and self-service displays (except in facilities where no one under 18 will ever be present);
• ban sales of single cigarettes and packages with less than 20 cigarettes;
• eliminate free samples and prohibit coupons for cigarettes or smokeless tobacco from being redeemed through the mail;
• generally limit tobacco advertising in the media to a black-and-white, text-only format (known as "tombstone advertising");
• prohibit outdoor advertising within 1,000 feet of schools or playgrounds; and
• prohibit the sales and distribution of promotional items, such as T-shirts, caps, and sporting goods that carry the brand name or logo of a tobacco product.
The third group of regulations is slated to go into effect on August 28, 1998. These regulations will:
• restrict tobacco companies that sponsor sporting or other events, race cars, athletic teams or the like to using their corporate names only.

Beyond these regulations, the FDA will require a national program of education relying primarily on television public service announcements.1 The agency will notify the major cigarette and smokeless tobacco companies of the requirement and their responsibility to fund the education. The FDA will negotiate a dollar amount with each tobacco company for its contribution requirement.

What the regulations do not do
Cigars and pipe tobacco are not regulated. The FDA currently does not have evidence on these products related to children and adolescents. However, the FDA does encourage the gathering of evidence on how cigars and pipe tobacco affect the health of children and adolescents and encourage its submission.

Enforcement by the FDA
Retailers who sell to minors risk penalties of $250 or more. State and local officials will work with the FDA to monitor retailers across the country. Customers who witness the sale of tobacco products to a youngster, or another violation, can report it to the FDA by calling toll-free: 1-888-FDA-KIDS.

What you can do
Don't rely only on the FDA rule. State and local action is still needed. The FDA rule can be used as a guideline or tool for local work. The FDA is not a substitute for what communities can do.
• Promote enforcement of and merchant compliance with the FDA through community collaboration, networking, and mobilization.
• Continue to educate the public, organizations, businesses, and key community decision-makers on the importance of these measures.
• Actively involve youth in a variety of ways (e.g., compliance checks, merchant education, media advocacy, community education).
• Frame the issue around the public's health.
• Conduct compliance checks.
• Provide merchant education, consultation and technical assistance.
• Generate media advocacy and publicity (e.g., press releases, submit guest editorials to newspaper, participate in radio and/or TV talk shows).

There has been much effort by the tobacco industry to defeat the FDA rule. While the first set of regulations is slated to go into effect this month, the fight continues. In October 1996, cigarette companies filed a motion in federal court to block the FDA's regulation of tobacco products. The tobacco industry argues that Congress did not authorize the FDA to regulate tobacco and the advertising restrictions violate First Amendment free speech rights. The FDA has asked the court to reject this motion on the basis that the rule is consistent with the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act.2 To learn more about the FDA regulations you may want to attend the town meeting video conference in Woodbury, MN on February 18, 12-1:30 p.m. Attendance is free but you must reserve your space by calling 414-771-7167. The meeting highlights include: retailer compliance with the rule, enforcement of the rule, how to prevent tobacco sales to youth, and what parents, community groups and retailers can do.

Reprinted with permission from Minnesota ASSIST.

DID YOU KNOW?

Youth who smoke tobacco are 3 times more likely to use alcohol and 8 times more likely to smoke marijuana.4

Almost 75% of daily smokers in high school still smoke 7 to 9 years later, even though only 5% had thought they would definitely be smoking 5 years later.5

About 90% of smokers born since 1935 started smoking before age 21 and almost 50% started before age 18.6

About 85% of adolescent smokers who buy their own cigarettes usually buy Marlboro, Newport, or Camel cigarettes, the most heavily marketed brands.7

More Minnesota 12th graders reported smoking in 1995 than 12th graders across the nation (39% versus 33.5%), and more Minnesota 9th graders reported smoking than national 10th graders (31% versus 28%).8

Tobacco companies spent an estimated $600 million on promotional items in 1993.9

A national survey by the Gallup Institute found that 44% of children who smoke and 27% of children who don't smoke owned promotional items from tobacco companies.

Sources

1. Kessler, DA, Witt, AM, Barnett, PS, Zeller, MR, Natanblut, SL, Wilkenfeld, JP, Lorraine, CC, Thompson, LJ, and Schultz, WB. The Food And Drug Administration's Regulation Of Tobacco Products. The New England Journal of Medicine. September 26, 1996. pp. 988-94.

2. Reuter, "FDA Counters Tobacco Industry's Effort In Court," Washington Post, December 3, 1996, p. A3.

3. Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People: A Report of the Surgeon General. US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office on Smoking and Health, 1994.

4. National Institute on Drug Abuse. National Survey Results on Drug Use from Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1994. Vol.2. Bethseda, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, National Institutes of Health, 1993; NIH publication no. 93-3598.

5. US Department of Health and Human Services. Reducing the Health Consequences of Smoking: 25 Years of Progress. A Report of the Surgeon General, 1989. Rockville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, 1989; DHHS publication no. (CDC) 89-8411.

6. Centers for Disease Control. Comparison of Cigarettes Brand Preference of Adult and Teenage Smokers, United States, 1989 and 10 US Communities, 1988 and 1990. MMWR 1992; 41:169-73,179-81.

7. MN Department of Children, Families and Learning. Minnesota Student Survey; Perspectives on Youth, 1995.

8. Shapiro E. Cigarette Makers Outfit Smokers in Icons, Eluding Warning and Enraging Activists. Wall Street Journal, 9/29/93.

9. Gallup International Institute. Teenage Attitudes and Behavior Concerning Tobacco: Report of the Findings. Princeton, NJ: Gallup International Institute, 1992.