California Tobacco Sales to Underage Youth and Young Adults Survey Data

Two data tables contain the percentage of licensed tobacco retailers that sold tobacco to underage youth and young adults. The California Youth Tobacco Survey (YTPS) assessed sales to youth under 18 from 1997 to 2018, succeeded by the annual Synar Tobacco Purchase Survey (STPS) for young adults under 21 starting in 2019. Data collection is mandated by California's STAKE Act and the federal Synar Amendment.

Use Cases

• Analyze trends in the percentage of retailers selling tobacco to youth under 18 across years from 1997 to 2018.
• Compare illegal sales rates for youth under 18 versus young adults under 21 before and after the 2019 policy change.
• Assess retailer compliance with the STAKE Act and Synar Amendment using the survey-derived percentage data.

Strengths

• Data collection spans over two decades, from 1997 to 2018 for the YTPS survey.
• Surveys are conducted annually for the STPS, providing regular compliance monitoring.
• Data is collected under specific legal mandates (STAKE Act and Synar Amendment), ensuring a consistent methodology.

Limitations

• The dataset's specific sample sizes, row counts, and column details are not provided in the input.
• Survey data may be subject to sampling error and may not capture every illegal sale event.
• The transition between survey methodologies in 2019 may complicate direct longitudinal analysis.

Provenance

Source

State of California, likely the California Department of Public Health based on tags.

Collection Method

Survey data from the California Youth Tobacco Survey (YTPS) and the Synar Tobacco Purchase Survey (STPS).

Time Range

1997 to 2018 for YTPS; annual data from 2019 onward for STPS.

Freshness

The dataset metadata was last updated in November 2025.

Geography

State of California, United States.