[media-credit name=’Allison Welch’ align=’alignnone’ width=’648′][/media-credit]Fewer minors will be seen walking the streets with a cigarette in hand because Madison businesses are selling less tobacco to minors, according to the Madison Department of Public Health.

After running a series of compliance checks earlier this year, the MPHD found that vendors check IDs 94 percent of the time, marking the city of Madison’s highest compliance level to date.

The MPHD has been working toward the higher compliance rate by offering vendors educational programs that train their employees. The training includes proper identification of minors attempting to buy tobacco.

MPHD Environmental Epidemiologist John Hausbeck said the program has been helpful so far.

“It’ll be interesting to see if the current high levels [of compliance will continue] to be seen,” Hausbeck said.

The program also contains an enforcement component, which includes frequent compliance checks for all vendors with licenses to sell tobacco.

The checks are conducted by sending minors between the ages of 15 and 17 into establishments with tobacco licenses to attempt to purchase tobacco. If a minor succeeds, the store receives a citation, as well as a fine for $52.40.

“It’s a testing mechanism,” Hausbeck said, adding that minors aiding in the compliance checks are told to follow certain guidelines.

“[They] are not trying to entice a sale,” Hausbeck said. “They are [also] not allowed to misrepresent their age, so if they are asked how old they are, they will tell the clerks.”

The penalty for additional offenses within 12 months is a fine of up to $500, as well as a suspension of the vendor’s tobacco license.

“We are hoping people will take the warning and do better next time,” Hausbeck said.

A main area of focus for the department has been convenience stores since they are one of the most common places minors go to buy tobacco products. So far, stores in that category have reached 89 percent compliance, the lowest of all vendor groups.

During the 2004 checks, convenience stores that received citations included The Den on State Street, Walgreens on State Street and Mobil Mart on West Washington Avenue.

Hausbeck said they would like to reach 100 percent compliance, but their current goal of 95 percent allows for mistakes that he says are inevitable.

“We understand vendors have lots of things to worry about,” Hausbeck said. “One of the roles of the program is to raise the issue to a higher priority.”

The issue, according to the department, is preventing kids from starting smoking at a young age.

University of Wisconsin senior Isaac Perkins said if the program deters kids who are underage from starting to smoke, then it’s helpful.

“I’m in the minority of people who started smoking after I turned 18,” Perkins said. “I think it’s a good idea since most of the smokers I know started before they were 18.”

Hausbeck said the program also uses research from places like the University of Wisconsin, which can provide their department with information on the long-term effects of smoking on people who start before the age of 18. According to Hausbeck, the findings point to long-term smoking as a primary cause of long-term diseases such as pulmonary heart disease.

But for now, the department’s primary concern remains working toward its goal of higher compliance with the law from vendors in Madison.

“I anticipate that we’ll be successful,” Hausbeck said. “Only time will tell.”