County: Stores complying with ban on tobacco sales to teens

County: Stores complying with
ban on tobacco sales to teens

This past summer Ocean County Health Department representatives worked with a volunteer team of teenagers, 17 years old or younger, bringing them to area stores, where the teens attempted to purchase tobacco products, said Leslie Terjesen, health educator.

According to a press release, this was part of an ongoing state and federal program called Tobacco Age of Sale Enforcement Program (TASE).

Terjesen helped the county establish a TASE program in 1994 and has been involved with its success ever since.

"Beginning in 1994, the department has worked with merchants to educate them regarding the law that makes it illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under 18 years of age," Terjesen said. "Here in Ocean County, approximately 1,670 merchants complied with the law."

Terjesen said that after a two-year grace period, the department began signing complaints against merchants who sold tobacco to undercover youths working with department personnel.

"Each year the compliance rates have improved," Terjesen said. "This summer not one store of the 40 we have visited sold to minors. Ocean County has one of the highest compliance rates in the state."

Terjesen said compliance with state law limiting sales of tobacco products to persons 18 years and older is an important tool to keep younger teens from developing an addiction to nicotine and the health problems caused by cigarette smoking.

"The percentage of youth between the ages of 12 and 18 who smoke continues to decline, but we still have a long way to go," Terjesen said. "The two most effective ways to stop kids from smoking is to prevent access to tobacco products and make it cost-prohibitive. An active TASE program, which includes educating merchants to the long-term health risks of youthful smoking, along with the state-mandated fines for merchant violators, acts as a deterrent to potential sales.

"The TASE program appears to be working in New Jersey, especially in Ocean County where we see compliance rates continuing to improve each year," she stated.

Current state law only prohibits merchants from selling tobacco products to youths, and is silent on the purchasing of the product by underage teens. Terjesen added that two communities, Waretown and Barnegat, have ordinances allowing municipal police officers to confiscate tobacco products from children under the age of 18.

Terjesen said the health department receives federal and state forms listing merchants that should be visited. The forms are randomly generated based upon retail tobacco sales licenses on file with the state. The program is ongoing, year-round and approximately 400 more sites will be visited this cycle, according to the press release.

Fines for violators of the state law face a penalty of $250 for a first offense; $500 for a second offense and for third offenders, a fine of up to $1,000 and possible loss of its tobacco license.

"We want to help merchants control their tobacco sales to adults only. We provide merchants with door and counter decals alerting everyone that the store checks I.D.s before selling tobacco to younger persons," she added. "We also give them a countdown calendar that lists the minimum legal age each day of the year for patrons wishing to purchase to­bacco. All of these items are available free of cost to the merchant by the health de­partment."

Students volunteer their time and some use the experience as part of their com­munity service involvement on their col­lege applications. Parents must agree be­forehand to allow their child to participate and the health department must keep a copy of each teenager’s birth certificate on file. If a store sells to an underage stu­dent, the health department representative will return immediately and confront the clerk and manager and inform them that charges will be pressed.

To sign up as a teen volunteer, call (732) 349-9700, Ext. 7224.