While the issue of underage drinking tends to eclipse news of youth smoking, Dane County saw a spike in underage sales of tobacco in 2014.

Though the overall numbers of tobacco sales to minors have been on the decline over the past few years, Dane and Columbia Counties in Wisconsin saw an increase in 2014. Lack of training and education among business owners and their sales clerks has been noted as contributing factors to the increase, Nina Gregerson, an outreach specialist from the Tobacco Columbia-Dane County Coalition, said.

“Youth smoking continues to be an issue,” Gregerson said. “Youth shouldn’t be getting their hands on tobacco, its illegal for a reason.”

Youth smoking rates are at an all time low in Wisconsin, hovering around 10 percent, but the use of other tobacco products has risen dramatically among minors, Gregerson said. The majority of tobacco sales to minors include products such as chewing tobacco, little cigars and e-cigarettes.

A Spike in Tobacco Sales to Minors in Dane County Raises Many Concerns http://t.co/xp8xpkIgSt

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Gregerson said the majority of underage tobacco sales come from pharmacies, which had a 30 percent sales rate to minors. This is almost double the sales rate of other tobacco vendor types, such as gas stations, liquor stores and grocery stores, she said.

The state often checks in on tobacco vendors by sending in underage agents to attempt to buy cigarettes, Gregerson said.

Owner of Madison’s Knuckleheads Tobacco and Vape Club, Michael Kesselman, said he takes the sale of tobacco and tobacco products very seriously.

“If you come through our front door you’ll see that we have all of the dates that you have to be in order to buy tobacco products in the store,” Kesselman said. “We card everybody.”

Gregerson said the coalition sends letters to tobacco retailers in Dane County to encourage them to complete online training. The training has simulator modules and gives information on how to check IDs, she said. Communication between business owners and clerks is also vital in inventing tobacco sales to minors, she said.

Gregerson said the consequences for a vendor being caught selling tobacco to minors can be quite severe, ranging from tickets for both the business owner and clerk to license suspension.

Kesselman said tobacco wholesalers and manufacturers often provide signs, stickers and posters that vendors can use to show both the clerk and the customer what age a person must be in order to buy tobacco products.

In terms of reaching minors, Gregerson said one of their biggest partners are county school districts. She said prevention is key in keeping tobacco out of the hands of minors. She said she is hopeful that current and future outreach practices will create a decrease in the purchase of tobacco by minors.

“The ultimate goal is to make tobacco history,” Gregerson said.