There is good news for concerned parents - new statistics show that the sale of tobacco to minors in the U.S. have dropped to an all-time low in 2012 under a federal-state inspection program intended to curb underage usage.
A federal report released Tuesday by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration says that the rate of retail tobacco sales to underage users nationwide has fallen from about 40 percent in 1997, to 9.1 percent in the last fiscal year.
The rate, which reached an all-time low of 8.5 percent in 2011, is based on the results of random, unannounced inspections conducted at stores to see whether they'd sell tobacco products to a customer under the age of 18.
"Over its 16 year history the Synar program has made remarkable strides in lowering the levels of illegal tobacco sales to minors across the nation, but far more needs to be done to prevent kids and young adults from using tobacco, which is still the nation's leading cause of preventable death." states Frances Harding, director of SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, in the press release.
A U.S. Surgeon General's report issued last year found that more needs to be done to prevent young Americans from using tobacco, including stricter smoking bans and higher taxes on tobacco products. According to that report, almost one in five high school-aged teens smokes. That's down from earlier decades, but the rate of decline has slowed.
According to the report, 14 percent of minors admitted to purchasing their own cigarettes in stores in 2011, down from 19 percent a decade earlier, suggesting that children may instead be getting their cigarettes and tobacco products from places other than convenience stores or gas stations.
