North Carolina wants tobacco vendors to pay better attention to the ages of their customers. State Alcohol Law Enforcement announced Monday that they had issued citations for underage sales to 243 store clerks in more than 1,800 random enforcement checks, conducted across 90 counties last year. The Raleigh district office of ALE issued 30 citations after checking 299 establishments. The office is responsible for 10 counties, including Wake, Durham, Orange and Chatham.
“We’re trying to curb underage tobacco purchases and make sure retail outlets are following the law,” ALE Director John Ledford said in a news release. “Many of the retail outlets followed the law and did not sell to a minor, and we commend them for their diligence.” Clerks are penalized when they either fail to request an ID from customers or sell tobacco products after seeing that a patron is younger than 18. A citation, assuming the clerk has no prior convictions, can result in up to 30 days of community service and a fine up to $1,000.
A clerk with prior convictions could serve time in jail. Compliance checks are conducted randomly throughout the year by having an underage person attempt to buy cigarettes or other tobacco products at the establishment, with one ALE agent stationed inside the facility and another outside, said Patty McQuillan, communications officer for the Department of Public Safety. The minors are generally relatives of law enforcement officials from ALE and local agencies. This year’s numbers bring the statewide citation rate to 12 percent, a 2-point decline from the previous year. Citation rates have declined steadily from 49 percent in 1997, the year ALE became the lead agency for tobacco enforcement.
Комментариев нет:
Отправить комментарий