This Web site is a component of the SAMHSA Health Information Network.

Synar Regulation Implementation: FY 97 State Compliance Section I: Program Summary February 1998

SAMHSA's Implementation of the Synar Legislation

• Have in effect a law prohibiting any manufacturer, retailer, or distributor of tobacco products from selling or distributing such products to any individual under the age of 18.

• Enforce such laws in a manner that can reasonably be expected to reduce the illegal sales of tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18.

• Conduct annual, random, unannounced inspections to ensure compliance with the law. These inspections are to be conducted in such a way as to provide a valid probability sample of outlets accessible to youth.

• Develop a strategy and negotiate with SAMHSA a timeframe for achieving an inspection failure rate of less than 20 percent of outlets accessible to youth.

• Submit an annual report describing in detail the State's activities to enforce its law including:
  • the overall success the State has achieved during the previous Federal Fiscal Year in reducing tobacco availability to youth,
  • methods used to identify outlets,
  • inspection procedures, and
  • plans for enforcing the law in the coming fiscal year.

Failure to meet the requirements of the Synar Regulation could result in graduated penalties against a State's SAPT Block Grant, as specified in the statute. For most States, the penalty for failing to comply with the requirements could be as high as 40 percent of total block grant funds (see appendix table A1, Synar Legislation Noncompliance Penalties). The Synar Regulation also provides for the possibility of extraordinary circumstances surrounding the inability of a State to maintain material compliance with the Synar law. In these individual cases, a number of other factors may be considered, such as a scientifically sound survey indicating that the State is making significant progress toward reducing use of tobacco products by minors. The onus is on the State to provide the documentation necessary for the exception.