Project helps drop cigarette sales to minors
Those who sell cigarettes are taking a longer look at their customers before turning over the items, according to the Connellsville Police Department. The local department is overseeing the countywide compliance checks to determine if retailers are complying with the law and not selling tobacco products to minors.
“The numbers (of those not complying) are decreasing,” said Chief Stephen Cooper.
Since October, department members and local teens participating in the project twice have visited nearly 250 convenience stores, bars, pharmacies, grocery stores, delis and gas stations.
In the first wave of inspections, 21 stores were cited for non-compliance, while only nine citations were issued when the stores were visited during the second round.
Connellsville high school sophomores Ben Keller and Tambre Cooper are assisting the department with the program and also are finding that store employees are taking a second look at them and asking for identification before making an effort to reach for the cigarettes.
“It’s as if a light goes off,” said Tambre Cooper.
Last week, the two teens, along with Sgt. Michael Parlak and Cpl. Ken Jaynes, departed Connellsville to conduct the compliance checks in the Uniontown area.
“We have a lot of fun,” Keller says as the four discuss the day’s activities and where they might stop for dinner.
The teens take turns entering businesses, under the watchful eye of a non-uniformed Jaynes, who enters the site under the pretense of being a customer.
He stands close by to make sure there are no problems at the counter, as Keller approaches and makes his request.
The employee looks closely at the teen and decides he’s not old enough to make the purchase. After she denies his request, he and Jaynes leave the store.
“We don’t try to trick them or talk them into anything,” Keller says after returning to the car.
The site is marked as complying with the program, and Parlak returns inside with a certificate noting that the employee has abided by the law.
Some are immediately spotted displaying the certificates in the windows of the store, while others appear not to appreciate the visit.
At a service station, Tambre Cooper approaches an attendant for the cigarettes. She is immediately turned away, but as Parlak presents the certificate, the worker tosses the paperwork into a nearby trash can.
“Some people believe we’re trying to set them up, but we’re not,” Parlak says. “You get that every once in a while.”
At Hixenbaugh’s Drug Store, employee Ann Honza turns Keller away when he requests a pack of cigarettes.
“He just looked too young,” Honza says.
Earlier in the day, employee Denise Mascioli, also turned away a cigarette customer whom she believed was not old enough and did not have identification to prove otherwise.
“It turned out he was 30 years old,” Mascioli says. “We have to ask if we’re not sure, and if they don’t have identification, we don’t sell to them.”
In a few hours, the teens, Parlak and Jaynes visit 25 sites and all are in compliance.
“They know that we’re checking and they’re not selling and that’s a good thing,” Jaynes says.
Stephen Cooper said the number of violations is dropping, but some stores are not getting the word out to all of their employees.
“We’ve gone to a store during the first phase and the employee refused to make the sale, but during the second visit another employee did,” he said.
In most of the hearings for the summary offenses, fines were levied against the employee. The maximum fine for the first offense is $300.
Cooper said police make visits randomly to avoid encounters with the same employees, and the department chooses different students to participate during subsequent compliance checks.
The teen participants undergo training before taking part in the program and are advised of the most popular cigarette brands and how to approach a store employee.
“We tell them not to lie about anything,” said Cooper. “If someone asks their age, they are to tell them.”
All are prohibited from taking any identification and are told to avoid any confrontations.
“The kids are doing a great job,” he said.
Ben Neil, Fayette County Drug and Alcohol Commission tobacco prevention specialist, said the police department has exceeded the expectations of those overseeing the program.
“The Connellsville department has been perfect for the job,” he said. “Chief Cooper does everything he possibly can to assure everything is done correctly. We are one of the first counties to get this program under way.”
The state initiated the compliance check program last year after receiving a multibillion-dollar share of the national tobacco settlement.
The city received $45,000 to compensate salary, insurance benefits, transportation and other related costs that would be incurred to carry out the program.
Neil said the tobacco compliance check program is a three-year initiative.