SACRAMENTO – This month, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) released its 2015 Youth Tobacco Purchase Survey, which showed a drop of 1.4% in retailers selling tobacco to minors. The survey found that illegal tobacco sales to those under age 18 happened at a rate of 7.6%, compared to last year’s rate of 9%. Those numbers are significantly lower than the rate of 21.7% in 1997, when the state first began monitoring illegal tobacco sales to minors.

“For seven consecutive years, the rate of illegal tobacco sales to minors has remained under 10%. However, the Healthy People 2020 target is to reduce this to 5% or less, which indicates that California still has room for considerable progress,” said Director and State Public Health Officer Dr. Karen Smith, in a press release.

Stores specializing in the sale of tobacco products registered the highest illegal sale rate at 14.8% in 2015. Convenience stores and gasoline stations hovered between 8.6% and 9.5%. Supermarkets and drug stores/pharmacies had the lowest rate of illegal sales at 3.9% and 0%, respectively.

The We Card e-learning provides retailers with the tools to train employees in selling tobacco and alcohol. The program recently celebrated its 20th year by launching several new features, including a smartphone site and resources about e-cigarettes.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has launched a public education initiative dubbed “Fresh Empire” designed to help hip-hop youth avoid tobacco.