Community education regarding youth access laws Media use to publicize compliance inspection results Community mobilization to increase support for retailer compliance with youth access laws Other activities (Please list.) Conduct year round random unannounced tobacco inspections. Conduct Statewide Enforcement Inspections Briefly describe all checked activities: The Center for Health Promotion, Education, and Tobacco Use Prevention within the Family Health Administration provides grants to local health departments for tobacco use prevention and cessation initiatives including programs to enforce existing tobacco control laws. The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration also worked with the local jurisdictions and law enforcement agencies through its collaboration with the Center for Health Promotion, Education and Tobacco Use Prevention. The Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration (ADAA) and the Family Health Administration (FHA) are both units of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH) and report to the Secretary of Health Enforcement is an important component of our comprehensive tobacco control program. The two primary areas of enforcement are restricting minors’ access to tobacco products and restricting smoking in public places. In order to reduce illegal sales of tobacco products to underage youth, local health departments: *Educate tobacco vendors about Maryland’s tobacco sales laws. *Partner with local law enforcement agencies to conduct compliance checks for underage sales and product placement. *Partner with local law enforcement to issue citations to youth for illegal possession of tobacco products. * Conduct tobacco education and cessation programs for youth. The result of enforcing tobacco laws is twofold. First, violators are deterred from illegal sales and possession of tobacco products and second, a public statement is made that community and public health leaders support tobacco control. In a comprehensive tobacco control program, enforcement efforts support other program components by creating an environment where youth tobacco use is not an accepted norm. Maryland passed "The Clean Indoor Air Act of 2007" which prohibits smoking in virtually all indoor workplaces. As of February 1, 2008, the law provides for fair and consistent statewide protection from exposure to secondhand smoke in indoor settings. People in Maryland have clean, smoke-free air while working, dining, shopping, or relaxing throughout the state. In addition, many local jurisdictions have passed ordinances and restrictions that have a broader scope than the State's workplace regulation. Some have expanded the workplace regulations to include smoke free grounds around government buildings, smoke free college campuses and some public playgrounds. These initiatives have rallied the community to push tobacco use prevention and enforcement initiatives to the forefront of the local agenda.
FORM 1 (Required for all States not using the Synar Survey Estimation System [SSES] to analyze the Synar Survey data.) Summary of Synar Inspection Results by Stratum State: FFY: 2012 (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) STRATUM NUMBER OF OUTLETS IN SAMPLING FRAME ESTIMATED NUMBER OF ELIGIBLE OUTLETS IN POPULATION NUMBER OF OUTLETS INSPECTED NO. OF OUTLETS FOUND IN VIOLATION DURING INSPECTIONS (a) Row # (b) Stratum Name (a) (OTC) (b) Vending Machines (VM) (c) Total Outlets (2a+2b) (a) (OTC) (b) Vending Machines (VM) (c) Total Outlets (3a+3b) (a) Over-the- Counter (OTC) (b) Vending Machines (VM) (c) Total Outlets (4a+4b) (a) (OTC) (b) Vending Machines (VM) (c) Total Outlets (5a+5b) RECORD COLUMN TOTALS ON LAST LINE (LAST PAGE ONLY IF MULTIPLE PAGES ARE NEEDED).
FORM 2 (Optional) Appropriate for stratified simple or systematic random sampling designs. Calculation of Weighted Retailer Violation Rate State: FFY: 2012 (1) Stratum Name (2) N Number of Outlets in Sampling Frame (3) n Original Sample Size (4) n1 Number of Sample Outlets Found Eligible (5) n2 Number of Outlets Inspected (6) x Number of Outlets Found in Violation (7) p=x/n2 Stratum Retailer Violation Rate (8) N’=N(n1/n) Estimated Number of Eligible Outlets in Population (9) w=N’/Total Column 8 Relative Stratum Weight (10) pw Stratum Contribution to State Weighted RVR (11) s.e. Standard Error of Stratum RVR Total N - number of outlets in sampling frame n - original sample size (number of outlets in the original sample) n1 - number of sample outlets that were found to be eligible n2 - number of eligible outlets that were inspected x - number of inspected outlets that were found in violation p - stratum retailer violation rate (p=x/n2) N’ - estimated number of eligible outlets in population (N’=N*n1/n) w - relative stratum weight (w=N’/Total Column 8) pw - stratum contribution to the weighted RVR s.e. - standard error of the stratum RVR
APPENDIX B: SYNAR SURVEY SAMPLING METHODOLOGY State: Maryland FFY: 2012 1. What type of sampling frame is used? List frame (Go to Question 2.) Area frame (Go to Question 3.) List-assisted area frame (Go to Question 2.) 2. List all sources of the list frame. Indicate the type of source from the list below. Provide a brief description of the frame source. Explain how the lists are updated (method), including how new outlets are identified and added to the frame. In addition, explain how often the lists are updated (cycle). (After completing this question, go to Question 4.) Use the corresponding number to indicate Type of Source in the table below. 1 – Statewide commercial business list 4 – Statewide retail license/permit list 2 – Local commercial business list 5 – Statewide liquor license/permit list 3 – Statewide tobacco license/permit list 6 – Other Name of Frame Source Type of Source Description Updating Method and Cycle Office of the Comptroller of the Treasure 3 Statewide list of licensed tobacco retail outlets with license numbers, trade names, addresses and corporate names. Tobacco retail licenses are issued by subdivisions as part of an ongoing joint registration process. The statewide list is updated annually. 3. If an area frame is used, describe how area sampling units are defined and formed. a. Is any area left out in the formation of the area frame? Yes No If Yes, what percentage of the State’s population is not covered by the area frame? % 4. Federal regulation requires that vending machines be inspected as part of the Synar survey. Are vending machines included in the Synar survey? Yes No If No, please indicate the reason they are not included in the Synar survey. State law bans vending machines. State law bans vending machines from locations accessible to youth.
Note: Upload to WebBGAS a copy of the Synar inspection form under the heading “Synar Inspection Form” and a copy of the protocol used to train inspection teams on conducting and reporting the results of the Synar inspections under the heading “Synar Inspection Protocol.” 1. How does the State Synar survey protocol address the following? a. Consummated buy attempts? Required Not permitted Permitted under specified circumstances Not specified in protocol b. Youth inspectors to carry ID? Required Not permitted Permitted under specified circumstances Not specified in protocol c. Adult inspectors to enter the outlet? Required Not permitted Permitted under specified circumstances Not specified in protocol d. Youth inspectors to be compensated? Required Not permitted Permitted under specified circumstances Not specified in protocol 2. Identify the agency(ies) or entity(ies) that actually conduct the random, unannounced Synar inspections of tobacco outlets. (Check all that apply.) Law enforcement agency(ies) State or local government agency(ies) other than law enforcement Private contractor(s) Other List the agency name(s): Alcohol and Drug Abuse Administration 3. Are Synar inspections combined with law enforcement efforts (i.e., do law enforcement representatives issue warnings or citations to retailers found in violation of the law at the time of the inspection?)? Always Usually Sometimes Rarely Never