California’s tobacco purchase surveys provide local projects with standardized methods to assess the availability of tobacco and flavored tobacco products, monitor compliance with sales bans and restrictions, and evaluate youth and adult access within retail environments. These surveys use trained adult or young adult “Secret Shoppers” to document attempted purchases, assess retailer behavior, and support local planning, education, and policy improvement.
The three surveys (Local Adult Tobacco Purchase Survey (LATPS), Local Adult Flavored Tobacco Purchase Survey (LAFTPS), and Young Adult Tobacco Purchase Survey (YATPS)) each serve distinct but complementary purposes that can be compared through the categorized table below.
| Local Adult Tobacco Purchase Survey (LATPS) | Local Adult Flavored Tobacco Purchase Survey (LAFTPS) | Young Adult Tobacco Purchase Survey (YATPS) | |
| Purpose | Determine whether any tobacco products are still being sold following local tobacco sales bans | Determine whether flavored tobacco products continue to be sold after the statewide flavored tobacco sales restriction.
| Evaluate retailer compliance with underage sales laws; support TRL adoption; measure underage access over time.
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| Who Conducts It | Adult Secret Shoppers of legal tobacco purchase age. | Adult Secret Shoppers of legal tobacco purchase age. | Young adults typically under the minimum legal sales age, supervised by local projects (not law enforcement). |
| Secret Shopper Process | Secret Shopper will ask to buy a product(s) specified by the tobacco prevention project conducting the survey.
The products should have been commonly available in the target jurisdiction before the law went into effect, currently popular among local adults, and/or suspected to be continued to be sold in violation of the law, such as cigarettes, cigarillos, nicotine pouches, and/or vapes. | If there is a flavored tobacco product clearly visible on the shelf, the Secret Shopper will ask to buy that product.
If there are no flavored products visible on the shelves, the Secret Shopper will ask to buy a product specified by the tobacco prevention project conducting the survey. This will typically be a product that is unambiguously flavored and restricted for sale by the law, such as menthol cigarettes or fruit-flavored cigarillos or vaping products.
The Secret Shopper records the outcome of the purchase attempt, as well as other key details such as the store type, price of the product, and relevant interactions with the clerk. | Young adults typically under the minimum legal sales age, supervised by local projects (not law enforcement).
For more detailed information please refer to the following resource: Young Adult Tobacco Purchase Survey (YATPS) Protocol |
| Data Collected | Purchase outcome, product availability, pricing, store behaviors. | Purchase outcome, product type, store type, price, clerk interactions. | Illegal sale rates, retailer behaviors, compliance with TRL and age‑21 laws, observed violations. |
| After the Survey | Tobacco prevention programs will calculate the overall rate of sale of tobacco products in their community, as well as other survey results of interest.
The results will only be reported in the aggregate, and no individual stores’ identities will be shared. | Tobacco prevention programs will calculate the overall rate of sale of flavored tobacco products in their community, as well as other survey results of interest.
The results will only be reported in the aggregate, and no individual stores’ identities will be shared. | The investigator reports all details of the attempt to project supervisor.
The supervisor records the information to include in their respective data collection instrument.
If a product was purchased, it is placed in a labeled bag (date + location) and provided to the project supervisor.
Any unusual circumstances or safety concerns during the visit are also documented for review/analysis |
| Resources | 2025 Local Adult Tobacco Survey Protocol: This protocol provides guidance on performing a survey to assess the level of compliance in a jurisdiction.
This protocol is not intended for use with compliance checks that involve an enforcement component or that may result in presenting evidence in a civil administrative hearing or court of law.
Appendix A - LATPS Sample Introduction Letter
Appendix B - LATPS Sample Consent Form
Appendix C - LATPS Sample Information Letter
Appendix D - LATPS CDTFA TRL List
Appendix E - LATPS Notification to LEA
Appendix F - LATPS Survey Instrument
| 2025 Local Adult Flavored Tobacco Survey Protocol: This protocol provides guidance on performing a survey to assess the level of compliance in a jurisdiction.
This protocol is not intended for use with compliance checks that involve an enforcement component or that may result in presenting evidence in a civil administrative hearing or court of law.
Appendix A - Sample Letter of Support
Appendix B - Sample Consent Form
Appendix C - Sample Informational Letter
Appendix D - CDTFA TRL List Request
Appendix E - LAFTPS Notification to Law Enforcement Agencies
Appendix F - LAFTPS Survey Instrument
| Sample Resources:
Sample Letter of Support
Assistance Service Request to Sheriff or Chief of Police
Sample Information Letter to District Attorney
Sample Consent Forms
Sample YATPS Form
How to Request a Tobacco Retail License List
Case Study Examples:
Kern County: Collaboration & Partnership-Law Enforcement Agencies &Tobacco Education and Prevention Programs: Enforcement of illegal Sales of Tobacco Products to Minors in Kern County, 2005-2015 |