Oregon Retailers Have Been Caught Selling Tobacco to Minors 870 Times in 2015
Tuesday, September 29, 2015
GoLocal reviewed data provided by the FDA which details inspection violations dating back to 2005.
The FDA sends agents under the age of 18 into stores that sell tobacco products to test their compliance to laws that forbid the sale of tobacco to those under 18 years old. If found to be in violation, stores first receive a written warning letter explaining the potential penalties for selling to minors. Retailers receive civil monetary penalties for subsequent violation.
All told, 870 stores sold to the undercover agents during the 4,400 inspections conducted in the state so far this year.
SLIDES: See the 25 Retailers in Oregon with the Most Violations Below
John Schachter, a spokesman with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, told GoLocal that it is crucially important to keep cigarettes and other tobacco products out of the hands of minors.
“It’s the only product out there that kills a third or even half of its users,” Schachter said. “We need to send a very clear message to young people that tobacco and cigarettes are not acceptable and are just so bad for you.”
Just over nine percent of Oregon high school students smoke, according to data from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, far less than the over 15 percent of high schoolers who smoke throughout the U.S. Roughly 17 percent of the State’s adults smoke, about equal with the national figure of adult smokers.
High Risks for Minors
Luci Longoria, manager of the Oregon Health Authority’s Tobacco Prevention and Education Program, said that those who avoid tobacco before they turn 18 have a much higher chance of not becoming addicted.
“Nine out of 10 people who smoke started before they turned 18,” Longoria said. “It goes on to become the number one preventable cause of death in Oregon, so anything that can be done to keep it out of the hands of minors is very important.”
Schachter said that keeping tobacco away from those under legal age limits is a key part of keeping them away from smoking. 95% of adult smokers in the United States began smoking before the age of 21, Schachter said, and tobacco and nicotine carry plenty of extra health risks for children.
“If you start smoking as a young person, you don’t have the maturity to make that kind of decision,” Schachter said. “Nicotine is very addictive, and it can impact your development in your teens and all the way up until your 20’s.”
New Methods of Enforcement
With teen smoking use still high across the country, anti-tobacco advocates are looking for ways to toughen age-of-sale laws when it comes to tobacco use. Schachter said that random undercover operations like the FDA’s are good at keeping retailers honest and ensure they are complying with the standards, as long as punishments are severe enough.
“In many states there are laws that say if a store is caught selling to minors then they could be fined or lose their tobacco license," Schachter said. "They will send undercover, under-age agents in to check and it tends to work pretty well because businesses are really afraid of losing that revenue stream."
He also advocated for the smoking age to be raised to 21.
“Tobacco is so clearly the most hazardous and dangerous products out there,” Schachter said. “It kills 480,00 people a year and brings over $170 billion in health care costs each year. If it can affect your development into your 20’s, I think it makes sense to raise the smoking age. Those who can get to 21 without ever smoking rarely start after that age.”
Multnomah County is currently considering a program that would force retailers to pay between $350 and $600 per year to sell tobacco. The money would be used to fund programs that further enforce the age restrictions. Oregon is currently one of only 12 states in the U.S. that do not have a similar licensing program.
Longoria, with the Oregon Health Authority, said that many other counties are also looking at licensing as a way to keep better watch over tobacco sales to minors.
“There’s no statewide system for monitoring this, so several counties are looking at what they can do to protect their kids,” Longoria said. “There needs to be a system where retailers can be held accountable and the things that make teenagers want to smoke, the flavor, the advertising, all of that, can be addressed.”
Related Slideshow: The 25 Stores with the Most Youth Tobacco Violations in Oregon
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