(Washington, DC) – The Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is inviting public comment on its FY 2025 Synar Report which outlines the District’s progress and plans to reduce youth tobacco access through illegal sales. Public comments on the FFY 2024 Synar Report should be sent no later than January 31, 2025, to Thomas Randolph, Synar Coordinator, at [email protected]

DBH manages the District of Columbia’s compliance with the federal Synar Program that requires states and federal jurisdictions to enact laws and enforcement programs prohibiting the sale or distribution of tobacco products to minors. District law prohibits the sale of tobacco products to individuals under the age of 21.

In the District of Columbia, the number of teens who report smoking continues a decade plus decline while the first tobacco use remains about age 10. Based on results from the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which is the latest available report, the percentage of high school students who reported cigarette use within the past 30 days was 3.1 percent— just slightly down from 3.2 percent in 2021. Additionally, students reporting trying cigarettes for the first time before the age of 13 has also decreased, going from 5.4 percent in 2021 to 4.8 percent in 2023. The Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (YRBS) is conducted every two years by the Office of the State

Superintendent for Education, with the most recent having been conducted in 2023.

“Youth use of tobacco products in any form is unsafe.” said Barbara J. Bazron, Ph.D., Director of the Department of Behavioral Health. “Tobacco product use among teens can negatively impact their academic performance and have significant impact on their health and future. Preventing tobacco product use among minors is critical to reducing tobacco use into adulthood.”

DBH expanded its scope of the Synar Program to include vaping devices as well. District law includes vaping devices in the definition of tobacco products, making them illegal to be sold to or consumed by individuals under the age of 21. In the 2023 YRBS, the percentage of high school students who report using a vaping product was 9.6 percent. down from 10.1 percent in 2021.

DBH conducts unannounced random inspections of hundreds of retail outlets to monitor compliance with the law. Merchants who illegally sell tobacco products are subject to fines ranging from $2,500.00 to $10,000.00. In addition to its enforcement efforts, the DBH sponsors a tobacco merchant education program to educate retailers about the law and to promote compliance.

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