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The purpose of the Synar Survey is to randomly survey licensed tobacco retailers across North Dakota to check compliance with laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors. This is not an enforcement activity; it is a check on compliance. The Synar Survey has been conducted for the past 29 years. All 50 states and nine jurisdictions (American Samoa, District of Columbia, Guam, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Palau, and the Virgin Islands) currently participate.
The Synar amendment requires states maintain a noncompliance rate at or below 20 percent, or they could lose up to 10 percent of the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment block grant funding. North Dakota receives approximately $7 million annually in block grant funding.
FFY 2026 Synar Survey Activity Results
| Tobacco retailer violation rate | 8.6% |
| Weighted tobacco retailer violation rate | 8.5% |
| Number of attempts by minors to purchase tobacco | 373 |
| Number of successful attempts by minors to purchase tobacco | 32 |
| Number of counties in which successful attempts were made | 23 |
Successful Attempts by Minors to Purchase Tobacco by Location
| Western North Dakota | 7 |
| Eastern North Dakota | 25 |
| TOTAL | 32 |
The full report and abstract are online at https://www.hhs.nd.gov/publications-behavioral-health-division.
Date Posted: Dec. 22, 2025