A federal law that pressured states into stepping up enforcement of laws against selling tobacco products to minors has been highly successful, the Associated Press reported Oct. 5.

Tobacco sales to minors fell to 10.9 percent at retail stores subjected to unannounced inspections last year -- the lowest rate in the decade since the sting operations began -- according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). "States have done an extraordinary job over the last 10 years in helping us stem illegal tobacco sales to minors," said SAMHSA administrator Terry Cline.

The 1992 Synar Amendment program requires the states to reduce the rate of tobacco sales to minors or risk losing a portion of their federal anti-drug block-grant funding.

In 2006, for the first time, every U.S. state had a violation rate of less than 20 percent. Arkansas had the lowest violation rate, 2.2 percent, while Kansas had the highest, 19.2 percent.