Think that kid looking to buy a pack of cigarettes is just thinking of starting up a new habit? Think again—especially in light of recently released information from the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department.
Underage decoys, working with the Sheriff’s Department, went into retail establishments throughout the county in an attempt to purchase tobacco products.
Buellton and Solvang saw the highest rates of sales to minors. In Buellton, retailers sold tobacco to minors 42 percent of the time in 2009, versus 17 percent in 2008. In Solvang, no retailers sold to minors in 2008, but in 2009, half of those stung did.
Tobacco Prevention Settlement Program ad ministrator Dawn M. Dunn explained that “although tobacco licensing laws currently exist in the cities and unincorporated areas of the county, the existing laws are almost a decade old. An update of these laws would help … in reducing illegal sales to minors.”
That’s because the licensing laws in Santa Barbara County—which were among the first enacted in the state—simply can’t pay for themselves, said Trina Long with the Tobacco Prevention Program.
According to Long, the fees that retailers pay for their licenses in other cities and counties are enough to cover the costs of enforcement. That’s not the case in Santa Barbara County.
“Most cities and counties are strapped for funds, so these kinds of buys aren’t exactly high priority. We have to use funds from the Tobacco Settlement to pay the sheriff, and even with that we’re only able to do undercover buys annually,” she said.
Even facing budget shortfalls, Long made sure to note that that the undercover buy operations aren’t about generating revenue.
“The way the policy is written, there is no way revenue can be generated,” she explained. “We can’t make money off it.”
Deputy Rando Calahan has been working with the Public Health Department on underage tobacco buys for the last four years. He said the decoys he works with are mostly pulled from the ranks of Police Explorers. They have to pass a background check and, if they’re 17, they can’t be turning 18 the same calendar year.
Calahan said a single deputy used to handle the undercover buys, but after some “hairy moments” they took to bringing two.
“Most are cooperative, but we’ve had a few get upset. When one clerk was told he was getting a citation, he came outside and wanted to … .” Calahan paused, looking for the polite turn of phrase: “Kick our butts.”
When an establishment sells tobacco to a minor, the clerk gets a $200 ticket on the spot. The owner faces a warning letter if it’s the first offense, and a 30-day suspension for the second.
“Our main goal is trying to reduce youth access,” Long said. “By working with the Sheriff’s Department to do buys, we’re raising awareness for the retailing community that we’re serious about this: Youth aren’t going to be able to buy tobacco in our county.”
Awareness of the tobacco laws is probably forefront in Alfred Holzhe’s mind. Holzhe, who owns El Rancho Market in Solvang, is facing a 30-day suspension of his tobacco license because his clerks have sold tobacco to minors twice in a two-year period.
“We literally talk about it on a daily basis, and we have an extremely stringent system in place to make sure it doesn’t happen,” he said, adding that “mistakes will happen.”
Does he think the undercover buys are having an effect?
“The reality is, as far as I can tell, kids get cigarettes from somewhere, somehow,” he said. “Just like kids in college under 21 can easily get alcohol. But it’s certainly raised our awareness.”
Why, then, does he think it’s happened twice now at his establishment?
“I can’t prevent people from making ill-timed decisions,” he said.
Deputy Calahan said the most common mistake he sees are clerks in a hurry.
“Either they’ve got a lot of people in line or are getting ready to go on break,” he said. “They’re missing that little step, taking that extra 10 seconds to check.”
Trying to nail clerks is the last thing undercover buys are trying to accomplish, said the program’s Dunn.
“If the youth are asked for ID, they’ll show ID,” she explained. “They’re not lying or being deceptive. We’re hoping the retailer is doing their job and going to ask.”
Calahan agreed that they try to make it as easy as possible for the clerks—sometimes a little too easy: One decoy was a Righetti High student, still in her letterman jacket and face paint from spirit week.
“If that’s not blatant, I don’t know what is,” Calahan said with a chuckle.
Contact Staff Writer Nicholas Walter at nwalter@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Mar 4-11, 2010.