Alcohol vs. Tobacco: State Penalties for Underage Possession Diverge

In their efforts to prevent teen smoking, tobacco control advocates focus almost exclusively on tobacco manufacturers.  For example, a CDC press release (here) for World No Tobacco Day (May 31) attributes youth tobacco use solely to tobacco marketing.  Last year’s Surgeon General’s report (here), “Preventing Tobacco Use among Youth and Young Adults,” was blunt: “Advertising and promotional activities by tobacco companies have been shown to cause the onset and continuation of smoking among adolescents and young adults.”

Severe marketing and advertising restrictions were imposed on manufacturers in 1998 by the Master Settlement, and again in 2009 by FDA regulation.  The industry’s role in adolescent tobacco use stops at tobacco retail, where FDA inspections have documented high compliance rates (here).

The other side of the equation, youth possession, is generally ignored by the tobacco control movement.  The Surgeon General’s report dismissed possession laws because they “may distract from focusing on the role of the tobacco industry or retailers.”  But there is a precedent for youth possession laws in alcohol control.    

The 1984 National Minimum Drinking Age Act required states to set at 21 years the minimum age for purchasing and publicly possessing alcoholic beverages (here).  States risked losing highway funds if they did not comply; all implemented substantial penalties for first-time possession of alcohol by underage persons, including fines, jail time, driver license suspension and community service.

State penalties for minor possession of alcohol are shown in the table below (from web sources here and here).  Most states levy fines – from $100 (in Delaware, Louisiana and Michigan) to $2,500 (in Illinois and Tennessee).  Some 21 states have provisions for jail time, ranging from 24 hours in Massachusetts to 12 months in Illinois, Missouri, North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee.  Eighteen states may suspend a driver’s license, from one month (in Delaware, Maine, Nebraska, Rhode Island and Texas) to a maximum of 12 months (in Idaho, Indiana and Utah).  Nine states can order community service.

Compare the above to the penalties for minor possession of tobacco, shown below. (I was unable to find a consolidated web source, so I reviewed individual state laws.)  Only 22 states impose fines, and they are much smaller than those for alcohol.  Only Idaho has a provision for jail time (six months).  The only other penalty, in 14 states, is community service. 

I take no position on banning possession of alcohol or tobacco by underage persons, and I am not advocating for a particular level of punishment for offenders.  However, it is important to note that while federal and state governments have decreed that alcohol and tobacco cannot be used by children and young adults (under 21 years and 18 years respectively), states have chosen different penalties for possession of these substances.

Children and young adults are held responsible for possessing alcohol, with substantial penalties for violators.  In stark contrast, many states do not hold children and young adults responsible for possessing tobacco, and those that do impose only minor penalties.

It is time to resolve this extreme disconnect in state-based alcohol and tobacco possession by underage individuals.     

State Penalties for First-Time Alcohol Possession and Tobacco Possession By a Minor
	Alcohol				Tobacco
State	Fine ($)	DL Suspension (months)	Jail Time (months)	Other	Fine ($)	Other
Alabama	50-500	3-6	Up to 3		10-50
Alaska	Up to 600			CS
Arizona	Up to 2,500		6		Up to 100	CS
Arkansas	100-500
California	250			CS	75	CS
Colorado	Up to 250	3
Connecticut	200-500				50
Delaware	100	1
District of Columbia	Up to 300	3			50
Florida	Up to 500		2		25	CS
Georgia	Up to 300	6	Up to 6			CS
Hawaii		6+
Idaho	1,000	3-12			Up to 300	CS, 6 months
Illinois	Up to 2,500		Up to 12
Indiana		2-12
Iowa	200
Kansas	200-500				25
Kentucky
Louisiana	Up to 100	Up to 6	Up to 6		Up to 50
Maine	200-400	Up to 1			100-300	CS
Maryland	Up to 500
Massachusetts			Up to 0.03
Michigan	Up to 100			CS	Up to 50	CS
Minnesota	3,000		Up to 12
Mississippi		Up to 3 months
Missouri	Up to 1,000		Up to 12
Montana	100-300			CS
Nebraska	Up to 500	Up to 1	Up to 3
Nevada	Up to 500
New Hampshire	Up to 300				Up to 100	CS
New Jersey	250	6
New Mexico	Up to 1,000			CS
New York	Up to 50			CS
North Carolina	Up to 200			CS
North Dakota	Up to 1,000		Up to 12		25
Ohio	Up to 1,000		Up to 6		Up to 100
Oklahoma	Up to 500		Up to 12		Up to 100
Oregon	Up to 320		Up to 1
Pennsylvania	Up to 300	3	Up to 3
Rhode Island	Up to 250	Up to 1				CS
South Carolina	100-200		Up to 1		25	CS
South Dakota	Up to 500		up to 1
Tennessee	Up to 2,500		Up to 12
Texas	Up to 500	Up to 1		CS	Up to 250
Utah	1,000	Up to 12	Up to 6		60	CS
Vermont	300	3			25
Virginia	Up to 500			CS	100	CS
Washington	Up to 1,000		Up to 3			CS
West Virginia	Up to 500		Up to 0.1		50	CS
Wisconsin	Up to 500
Wyoming	Up to 750		Up to 6		50

DL = Driver's License
CS = Community Service