Another round of tobacco endowment money will help local law enforcement officials in their effort to stop illegal tobacco sales to minors.

Monday, February 26, 2001

Another round of tobacco endowment money will help local law enforcement officials in their effort to stop illegal tobacco sales to minors.

The youth access enforcement grant is the second influx of tobacco endowment funds to Freeborn County, and will fund retail tobacco ordinance compliance this spring, said Freeborn County Public Health Nurse Michelle Severtson.

&uot;Hopefully if the retailers know it’s not right for the kids to get the cigarettes, that it’s against the law, it will lead to reduced use,&uot; Severtson said. &uot;There’s a lot of ways to get cigarettes, but with the retailers, we know that’s one way.&uot;

According to the Freeborn County and Albert Lea tobacco ordinances, the checks must be conducted at least once a year, she said. The $12,000 grant will fund checks on all 90 tobacco retailers in the county through June.

&uot;We are kind of subcontracting with the Albert Lea Police Department and Freeborn County Sheriff’s office and we will actually reimburse them for the compliance checks,&uot; Severtson said.

The sheriff’s office conducted county compliance checks in December, and the Albert Lea Police Department will check city retailers in the near future, she said.

The clerks who sell tobacco to minors and the retailers themselves are fined, Severtson said.

The grant money will fund the checks, and purchase pizza and pop for the 15 to 17-year-old youths who help the police department with the compliance checks. The funds will also be used to fund a positive reinforcement effort for those retailers who did not sell tobacco to minors during the check, Severtson said.

To thank those clerks, the public health department and Stop Teen Access to Tobacco (STAT) committee will send a thank-you note and chamber buck certificates, she said. The reward is intended to show clerks their vigilance is appreciated, and help remind them to refuse sales to minors in the future.

In addition to the compliance checks, the Albert Lea Police Department will hold a tobacco retailer education workshop to help retailers determine who can legally purchase tobacco products.