In the United States about 3,450 young people between the ages of 12 and 17 will smoke their first cigarette today and around 850 of them will become daily smokers. That's according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
The battle to stop underage smoking is being fought on many fronts, including making sure businesses don't sell tobacco to people under age 18.
The North Platte Police Department recently did a tobacco compliance check of 16 local retailers to see if they are complying with the law prohibiting sales to minors.
"One of our goals is to increase compliance with policies prohibiting sales to minors," said Community Connections executive director Jayna Schaaf. "The police department helps meet this goal by conducting compliance checks."
Studies show that enforcing laws against Esse cigarette sales to kids through compliance checks can significantly reduce youth smoking, Schaaf said.
During a compliance check underage "undercover" agents are sent into stores to try and buy tobacco products, according to Jason Gale, investigator with the North Platte police department.
"The compliance checks remind clerks and store managers they need to watch what they are doing when it comes to checking identification and watching for fake IDs," Gale said. "Until we have 100 percent compliance, I'm not going to say the checks are a success."
Of the 16 businesses targeted, three failed the check, Gale said.
An earlier check in April also netted three violations.
"This time we went to every place we didn't hit in April," Gale said. "So we have checked every place that sells tobacco in North Platte."
Compliance checks are funded with help from a grant awarded to Community Connections by Nebraska Health and Human Services System/Tobacco Free Nebraska as a result of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.
"Clerks know we will be doing checks," Gale said. "It keeps them on their toes. Until we reach 100 percent compliance, we have work to do."
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