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 Age 18 - A Failed Strategy
Recognizing that almost all smokers initiate to cigarettes before age 18, there has been a significant effort to stem access to youth 17 and under. All states have adopted a LMSAT of 18 and three; Alabama, Alaska and Utah, restrict tobacco under age 19. Because of poor enforcement of youth access laws, Congress adopted the "Synar Amendment" in 1992, named after the bill's sponsor, Oklahoma Representative, Mike Synar. This law which went into effect in 1997 mandated that all states improve tobacco retailer compliance with age 18 access. Failure to do so by fiscal year 2003 could result in the loss of millions of Federal dollars designated for state's substance abuse programs.
Retailer performance as tested by federally-sponsored (Synar) compliance checks began in 1997 and did improve from an average violation rate of 40% in 1997 to an average of 17% in 2001. Unfortunately there has been little actual decrease in youth access to cigarettes. In fact, in the majority of studies there appears to be little correlation between teen smoking prevalence and the level of retailer compliance with youth access policies. Findings from the ongoing University of Michigan's Monitoring the Future national research program show that 10th graders perceived ease of purchasing tobacco products has not changed in the last decade.
There are several reasons for this failure. Certainly continued relatively poor enforcement of the laws is one. Even with a violation rate of 17%, youths still have ready access at nearly one in six tobacco sales establishments. Moreover because of the restrictions under which they are conducted, current federally mandated Synar checks grossly overestimate actual retailer compliance rates and are of little value in assessing actual youth access from retailers. During such compliance checks, the youths attempting to buy are not allowed to claim they are 18 or lie in any way. They may not use any kind of false identification, buy from a clerk they know or select well-known suppliers. In the real world, of course, teens may use all of these strategies. 
In addition, as merchant compliance has improved, youths have increasingly turned to "social sources" for their cigarettes. They give others money to buy cigarettes, borrow cigarettes from acquaintances, use vending machines and sometimes steal packs from retailers or parents.
Perhaps most importantly, age 18 access restriction fails because it targets the wrong group. Although some addictive traits begin early, few high school students smoke at what is generally considered the minimum addictive level of half a pack per day. Less than half of 17-year-old users smoke daily and therefore "social sources" and not tobacco retailers may suffice for their level of use.
First-use or "initiation" occurs at around age 14. But, because a high school student may face practical inhibitions in maintaining addictive nicotine levels when he or she cannot smoke in school or at home, daily smoking begins later at a median age of 17.
Less than one sixth of high school students who smoke consume half a pack per day or more.
Addictive smoking of a pack per day generally does not occur until considerably later in life.
This 3-4 year span offers an opportunity to interrupt the process with strong counter-marketing, denormalization, excise tax and access efforts.10
The Youth Access Trap?
The failure thus far of age 18 access restriction has led a few tobacco control advocates to suggest that this strategy be abandoned altogether. A leading California scientist and activist, Stan Glantz has titled this failure the "Youth Access Trap." He argues that the only beneficiaries are the tobacco manufacturers and retailers who proudly proclaim their involvement in enforcing youth access with such programs as "We Card" and "It's The Law". They further suggest that youth access laws divert scarce resources from other time-tested strategies such as media campaigns, increased tobacco taxes and clean indoor air initiatives.11
Others argue strenuously that so little serious effort has been made to enforce youth access restrictions that no evaluation is yet possible. Perhaps both sides are right. It may be difficult to stop access to teens age 13 to 17 who smoke relatively small numbers of cigarettes. And, enforcement is a problem, especially for those teens nearer the age 18 limit. However, the data collected during the years that the age for alcohol was changed in many states offers a view to a valuable answer for tobacco -- raising the bar to age 21.
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