January 19, 2009

It's still possible for minors to buy tobacco in Racine

Depending on how you do the math, either one-third or one-quarter of the 103 businesses checked by the Racine Police this year sold tobacco to minors.

Police reported making 220 compliance checks at 103 businesses during 2008. Sixty-six businesses were in compliance with laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors; 37 were not. (Eight stopped selling tobacco products, two went out of business and two were not checked "due to safety concerns forthe minor volunteer.")

During the eleven separate rounds of compliance checks, 49 establishments were issued citations for $550 for each of the violations, whether they sold an entire pack of cigarettes or, in the case of one store, sold a single cigarette.

Most of the businesses cited for selling tobacco to a minor had just one violation, but there were some multiple offenders. Worst was Raytown Pantry, at 2731 Durand Ave., with four citations; caught three times were Nick's Supermarket, 1407 Superior St., and Metro Petro, 4301 Washington ave.; five other businesses were cited twice.

No comments:

Post a Comment