Tobacco compliance checks resuming

Tobacco Compliance Checks

In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration conducted 231 retail compliance checks in Clark County, resulting in 54 sales to minors. Here is the breakdown of the checks and sales to minors:

• Camas: 16 checks, 14 sales

• Battle Ground: 19 checks, 1 sale

• Vancouver: 183 checks, 37 sales

• Washougal: 13 checks, 2 sales

Local retailers be warned: Clark County Public Health is resuming tobacco compliance checks in response to a sharp increase in the number of illegal sales to minors.

Health officials conducted compliance checks from the early 1990s until 2010, when federal funding to support the program was eliminated. The Food and Drug Administration, working with the state Liquor Control Board, also performs compliance checks at local retailers.

Since public health stopped its compliance checks, the number of illegal sales to minors has more than doubled. In 2010, public health conducted 137 retail compliance checks, resulting in 13 sales to minors — a rate of 9 percent. Last year, the FDA completed 231 retail checks in Clark County, resulting in 54 sales to minors — a rate of 23 percent.

That dramatic increase is what prompted public health to reinvest in compliance checks, shifting money used on tobacco education to compliance checks, said Cyndie Meyer, a public health chronic disease prevention program manager.

“When we saw the numbers were rising again, we thought we better get out there and get to the root of the cause,” Meyer said.

The compliance checks at Clark County’s 500 tobacco retailers will begin immediately. Health officials expect to perform at least six to 10 checks each week, Meyer said.

During a compliance check, a public health official takes a trained, underage youth (14 to 16 years old) to a retail establishment, most often those near schools, skate parks or other places where youth congregate, said Long Vue, a public health educator.

The youth goes into the store alone and uses his or her state-issued identification to attempt to purchase tobacco or a vaping product. The youth are not allowed to lie about their age if asked by a clerk, Vue said.

The accompanying health official watches from outside the store. If the clerk makes an illegal sale to the minor, the health official will photograph the evidence and forward the information to the state Liquor Control Board for enforcement, Vue said

If a violation occurs, the health official goes into the store and tells the clerk about the compliance check and provides brief education about tobacco sales to minors, Vue said. If no violation occurs, the health official still notifies the clerk of the compliance check and thanks them for checking ID, he said.

“Our goal is to educate, not trick or penalize people,” Vue said. “We just want sales to youth to stop.”

The FDA compliance checks don’t include that immediate notification and education, Vue said. Instead, retailers receive a letter in the mail, he said.

Penalties for clerks who sell to minors are $50 for the first offense and $100 for each subsequent offense. Penalties for the retailer range from $100 to $1,500 and include license suspensions for repeat offenses.