County Targets Illegal Tobacco Sales

Source from:  mlive.com by Charlotte Weick January 28, 2008 01/29/2008

Charlotte WeickHarding's Friendly Market in Wayland did not get "stung" during a recent No Cigs for Kids campaign. From left: Harding's employees Peggy Beck, Cindy Brower, Colleen VanderPloeg and Christy Garcia. If you are a minor and want to satisfy a tobacco craving, don't try to buy cigarettes at Harding's Friendly Market in Wayland, Dick's Market in Dorr, or Weick's Food Town at Gun Lake. Clerks at the three stores were among those in the Wayland and Dorr area that refused to sell tobacco products to minors. The teen tobacco customers, 17 and under, were part of an Allegan County campaign called "No Cigs for Our Kids." In the program, throughout the year, local law enforcement and teens make random visits to merchants. Clerks at the stores that do not sell to the minors receive a certificate of commendation. A total of six retailers in the Wayland and Dorr area received citations and fines for violation of the Youth Tobacco Act. According to the Act, retailers must not sell tobacco products to persons 17 and under. Violation of the Act can result in fines of $50 or more. After the campaigns are over, the Allegan County Health Department publicizes the results. They do not publicize when or where the campaigns will be held. County officials and local law enforcement believe that compliance checks are an important part of an aggressive effort to protect the health of Allegan County youth. "Nationally, data shows that 90 percent of current adult smokers started smoking before the age of 19," said Heidi Bertschinger. An employee of Allegan County Mental Health, Bertschinger serves as a substance abuse prevention specialist and youth tobacco use representative. "A new study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine reveals that 10 percent of youth who become hooked on cigarettes are addicted within two days of first inhaling from a cigarette." 25 percent are addicted within one month, Bertschinger said. "The statistics underscore the importance of delaying the age of onset of smoking as long as possible, when a more educated decision can be made," she said. One of the best ways to help prevent tobacco use by minors is to eliminate illegal sales. "In order to prevent our children from beginning a lifetime addiction to tobacco, we must ensure that our kids are not able to purchase tobacco at any store, at any time," Bertschinger said. There is another important reason for the county to conduct compliance checks. Allegan County's rate of Youth Tobacco Act compliance has an impact on the amount of federal funding available for substance abuse prevention services. Allegan County receives Federal Block Grant Funding from tobacco settlements. For that funding to continue, the county must consistently meet the federal requirement of an 80 percent compliance rate. The No Cigs for Kids operations help the county to determine the county's compliance rate at the end of the year. In 2007, the compliance rate was 82 percent. Based on the recent campaign, the county's compliance rate falls short, at 74 percent. There will be other No Cigs for Our Kids campaigns throughout Allegan County in 2008. If there is improved compliance throughout the year, the percentage rate can improve, Bertschinger said. Bertschinger said that the main objective of No Cigs for Kids is not to hand out citations. She declined to name specific clerks or retailers where tobacco was sold to the decoys. "The clerks were cited, not the stores," Bertschinger said. The county is striving to educate youth about the dangers of smoking and educate clerks and merchants about the importance of complying with the Youth Tobacco Act, Bertschinger said. As part of that education process, Bertschinger visits each clerk that is not in compliance. No Cigs for Kids serves as a way to bring the community together in cooperation to make certain that tobacco is not getting into the hands of Allegan County Youth, Bertschinger said. "It is imperative that we strive for 100-percent compliance," she said. For more information, call Bertschinger at (269) 673-6617 ext. 2714. Enditem