Tobacco 21: Retailer Perceptions, Experiences, and Challenges Before and After a New Minimum Legal Sales Age Law in Maryland

Objectives By raising the legal age of sale from 18 to 21 years old, Tobacco 21 laws (T21) are reshaping the tobacco landscape in the United States. In 2019, Maryland became the 13th state to adopt T21. This study is among the first to examine the perception, awareness, and ease of compliance of T21 among tobacco retailers through a two-wave survey conducted pre-T21 and post-T21. Design Surveys were conducted among the state’s more than 6,000 registered retailers prior to the state’s T21 law going into effect and eight months later after T21 had been enacted. The pre-T21 and post-T21 survey instruments measured retailer awareness, support, and perceived ability to comply with T21, current tobacco practices, revenue from tobacco products, and challenges faced in compliance. 414 retailers completed the pre-T21 survey and 360 completed the post-T21 survey. The final survey data was weighted to reflect the geographic distributions of licensed tobacco retailers in Maryland. Results There was no significant difference in retailer awareness, support and challenges comparing pre and post T21. One notable caveat is lack of consumer knowledge about T21, resulting in retailers being responsible for educating customers. Conclusions The evaluation of T21 and impact to retailers is a valuable tool in determining the law’s success and barriers to implementation. Results support the idea that T21 laws have had a minor impact on how retailers conduct their business. As a result of the communication and materials provided by the state, retailers largely understand the law and how to adhere to guidelines.