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Retailers who sell tobacco products
in California will be subjected to more inspections to make sure they are not selling to
minors.
The governor has ordered state agencies to seek new laws to toughen penalties for
merchants who violate the laws governing sales of tobacco to minors, and to ensure local
law enforcement has authority to enforce the state's laws against sales of tobacco to
minors.
All state agencies that inspect retail establishments, especially agents of Alcohol
Beverage Control, have been ordered to check for the presence of signs forbidding tobacco
sales to minors and to notify the state health department of violators.
While teen smoking has declined in California, illegal sales of tobacco to minors have
increased from 12.8 percent in 2005 to 17.1 percent in 2006 and 19.3 percent in 2007, the
state says.
According to the California Youth Purchase Survey, 2008, non-traditional tobacco retailers
had the highest rates of illegal sales to minors (doughnut shops, 33.3 percent;
discount/gift
stores, 32.4 percent; and deli/meat/product markets, 30 percent). Other
businesses with high rates of illegal sales were gas/convenience stores,
(22 percent) and liquor stores, (20.1 percent).
The lowest rate of illegal sales was at supermarkets (8.5 percent).
State law requires tobacco retailers to post a warning sign at each point of sale, stating
that selling tobacco to individuals under 18 years of age is illegal and subject to
penalties. Warning signs must also include the toll-free telephone number that customers
may use to report underage tobacco sales. |
