The aim of the grant is to reduce children’s access to tobacco products. According to information from the Sheriff’s Office, the grant involves a multi-pronged approach that includes providing compliance education to retailers and school-aged youth, enforcing laws on retail sales of tobacco products to minors and citing minors who are in possession of tobacco.

 

“Smoking is a serious problem for the youth of this country and particularly for those under 18. I strongly support this program and hope that together we can make a difference,” Sheriff Terry G. Box said.

 

Texas Statewide Tobacco Education & Prevention provided training to deputies and provided them with information relating to the consequences of youth tobacco youth. According to Texas STEP, an estimated 3 million AMerican children under 18 years of age consume 947 million packs of cigarettes yearly. Their surveys also show that children were successful 60 to 80 percent of the time when they attempt to purchase tobacco products.

 

While training to implement the grant, deputies learned that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention found that a combination of educating retailers and increasing enforcement of tobacco access laws is the  most effective method in reducing illegal sales to minors, Box said.

 

In response to the findings, deputies will be making unannounced compliance inspections of local tobacco retailers, the sheriff said.

 

“There will be times that the deputies use decoys to conduct controlled buys or ‘stings’ to determine if tobacco products from retailers are being sold to minors,” Box said.

 

Deputies will issue citations to violators and follow up with the businesses to discuss the program, he said, and deputies will be watching for minors in violation of state tobacco laws.

 

It is a Class C misdemeanor for minors to possess tobacco products or to sell tobacco to minors. Violators can be fined up to

$250.

 

Additionally, judges can require offenders to attend an eight-hour tobacco awareness program, perform tobacco-related public service and have the issuance of a drivers’ license suspended for six months.

 

Judges can also require a minor’s parent or guardian to attend tobacco awareness class along with the minor.

 

The sheriff’s office is asking citizens to assist them by reporting minors in possession of tobacco products and the sale of these products to minors by calling 972-547-5100.

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