Tobacco sales to underage consumers in Madison have reportedly increased significantly since 1999, as almost 100 local vendors sold to youth last year. Overall vendor compliance with sale laws dipped to 69 percent in November and December of 2001.

The Madison Department of Public Health recently teamed with the Centers for Prevention and Intervention to re-establish the Tobacco Vendor Compliance Check program in an attempt to decrease the availability of tobacco to minors.

The program sent youths into Madison tobacco vendors, including bars, taverns, grocery stores, convenience stores, drug stores, gas stations, retail stores and hotels, to test each establishment’s compliance with tobacco-sale laws in November and December.

Excluding taverns and bars, vendor compliance fell to 72 percent, the lowest figure since February 1996.

Tobacco vending machines, located in taverns and the bar areas of restaurants and bowling alleys, only achieved a compliance level of 39 percent.

According to the program’s findings, 94 of Madison’s 321 licensed tobacco vendors sold tobacco products to minors during the compliance check.

Nine of the 321 vendors were not used in the check either because they were not open to the public, specialized in adult entertainment or were no longer in business at the time.

Campus-area businesses like Bullfeathers, 303 N. Henry St.; Regent Street Liquor, 916 Regent St.; Open Pantry, 437 W. Gorham St.; Angelic Brewing Company, 322 W. Johnson St.; and Capitol Centre Foods, 111 N. Broom St., were among the 94 establishments that sold tobacco to minors at least once during the two-month check.

Capitol Centre Foods owner John Leemkuil said while it is impossible to ensure no minors are able to purchase tobacco, his store usually tries to restrict underagers from obtaining the products.

“We request our cashiers to ask for ID if the person appears to be under the age of 40,” Leemkuil said.

Leemkuil added he doesn’t think many underage customers attempt to purchase tobacco in his store.

“Most of our customers are university students or older, but we do occasionally get some [underagers] on weekends and game days,” Leemkuil said.

Mike Wicihowski, a UW-Madison senior and employee of The Den, 74 University Ave., said employees at the store are asked to card customers who look younger than 27 years old.

Wicihowski was recently rewarded by management at his store for turning down an underage customer who attempted to purchase tobacco products.

“I don’t know who it was, but apparently I carded a guy or girl about a month ago and denied them,” Wicihowski said. Wicihowski received $35 for not selling. He said while customers may be annoyed when cashiers ask to see ID, carding them is necessary because minors frequently attempt to make tobacco purchases. “The freshmen who live across the street [in Southeast dorms] just assume that everyone is 18,” Wicihowski said. “But really, there are freshmen who aren’t yet 18, and they need to be carded.”