Illegal Sales of Tobacco to Youth in County Way Down

Source from:  wiscnews.com By Jason Maddux 02/25/2008

Illegal sales of tobacco to Columbia County youths went down significantly in 2007, a survey has found. Sales of tobacco to young people across the state hit an all-time low, with a 2007 sales survey showing a noncompliance rate of 4.5 percent. That compares with 5.5 percent in 2006, the previous low. The noncompliance rate was as high as nearly 34 percent in 2001. Columbia County's noncompliance rate was 14 percent in 2007, down from 23 percent in 2006. Noncompliance was 29 percent in 2003, the first year the Synar report was done in the county. The survey is named for former U.S. Rep. Michael Synar, an Oklahoma Democrat who sponsored federal legislation leading to the report. The survey looks at retail outlets that sell tobacco illegally to minors younger than age 18. Retail outlets are picked at random. Susan Lorenz, Columbia County health officer, said that of 170 compliance investigations in 2007, only 14 percent were considered noncompliant. The health department will conduct 191 investigations in 2008, and all licensed tobacco retailers will be sent a letter informing them this will happen. "We sensed that as we did the compliance checks in 2007 that there were more retailers not selling to minors," Lorenz said. "We are pleased with state and local results." Trained youths between the ages of 15 and 17 are sent into licensed tobacco retail vendors as part of the survey. Businesses are compliant if the clerk refuses a sale or blocks access to a vending machine. In the cities of Portage and Columbus, Lorenz said, police will issue citations if vendors do not comply. In other parts of the county, the health department follows up with a reminder letter. "The diligence on the part of local retailers to check identification and refuse sales to minors is appreciated," Lorenz said. "I don't think that anyone in our community wants to see kids take up smoking." She credited several factors -- including the success of the Wisconsin Wins program, the cigarette tax, a funded tobacco prevention program, access to quitting help through the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line, and the proposed statewide smoke-free workplace law -- as helping reduce youth smoking. The Wisconsin Wins program, which focuses on reducing youth access to tobacco, is part of the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services overall program to reduce youth smoking. Portage police issued eight citations in 2007. The citations go to the clerk or seller, not the business. A first-offense fine in Portage is $249; second offense is $375; and a third is $753. One business failed twice within the year, according to police. Columbus police issued three citations in 2007. According to Lorenz, Columbia County is right at the state average in percentage of high school-age youths who smoke (21 percent) and middle-school students who smoke (8 percent). The county has a slightly higher percentage of adults who smoke (24 percent) compared to the state average (22 percent). Enditem