Tobacco Sales to Indiana Minors Increase in 2007

Source from:  Tribune Staff Report BLOOMINGTON, Ind. 03/20/2008

Report ends six consecutive years of reduced sales. Efforts to reduce tobacco sales to minors in Indiana lost ground last year but only slightly, based on data compiled by the Tobacco Retailer Inspection Program. Still, the uptick ended six consecutive years of reduced sales. TRIP is a joint venture of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation's Indiana Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University, Bloomington, and the Indiana State Excise Police. A report today by the Indiana University Communications Department stated that when TRIP inspections began in 2000, 40 percent of retailers were found to have sold tobacco to minors. Largely because of TRIP, that percentage had steadily declined until last year, when 12.7 percent of retailers sold tobacco to minors. The figure was the same as the level reported in 2005. In Indiana, it is illegal for a clerk or retail establishment to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. During TRIP inspections, a youth under the observation of an adult or officer enters a store and attempts to buy a tobacco product. If the person is successful, an excise police officer issues a notice of violation. Fines range from $50 to $500, depending on the number of prior violations. Enditem