Learning Objectives: Provide a sound strategy that promotes compliance with tobacco control laws as they relate to statewide laws and local ordinances. Describe strategies that promote outreach and education to retailers in order to reduce the illegal sale of tobacco products to minors. Demonstrate the development and adoption of a local ordinance to reduce tobacco sales to minors.
Abstract: Based on data gathered in 1999 on illegal tobacco sales to minors, the City of Los Angeles adopted an ordinance, which launched the Tobacco Enforcement Program (TEP). The City’s program, sponsored by money from the national tobacco settlement has several goals which include: requiring all vendors to obtain a permit in order to sell tobacco products and creating a database encompassing 75% of tobacco retailers. The database will be used to track vendors who repeatedly fail to comply with the law. To ensure compliance the City conducts regular checks of vendors to determine if they obey the law. The City’s ordinance requires that all sales of tobacco products be vendor-assisted. Selling tobacco products in the City without having obtained a permit and displaying products in a way that makes them directly available to customers are both punishable as misdemeanors. Preliminary compliance check data reveal a trend of increased violations by certain categories of vendors in Los Angeles, especially gas stations, donut shops and individual street vendors. Data will be evaluated to measure the categories of stores and their proximity to schools, parks or playgrounds. A random sample size of repeat violators will be included in the second year of compliance checks. Based on the outcomes, the data will be compared to the data collected on the categories of stores and their proximity to schools. The discussion is intended for Public Health and Tobacco Enforcement Professionals. Participants will learn about ways to curb illegal sales to minors and applying lessons learned.
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