RHINELANDER, Wis. (WXPR) — A state wide program is cracking down on illegal tobacco sales.
The Wisconsin Wins Tobacco Compliance Check Program works to keep tobacco out of the hands of youth and lower illegal tobacco sales in Oneida, Vilas, Forest, Florence, Lincoln and Price counties. Program Coordinator and Oneida County Community Health Specialist Maria Otterholt outlines the program. “It actually sends minors into a retailer that has a tobacco license and attempt to purchase a tobacco product. If they are sold a product we come in and issue that retailer a fine. The reason we do that here is to really raise awareness again about the easy access that minors often have to these tobacco products.”
Otterholt says 90 percent of adult smokers who smoke today started before age 18. She says Oneida County had an illegal sales rate of 18 percent in 2015, and says retailers need to pay careful attention. “There are 3 id’s from the DOT that are circulating right now and that can make it very, very tricky for retailers to read those IDs and see if those people who are trying to purchase tobacco are under 18 or not.”
For more information about Wisconsin Wins contact Maria Otterholt 715-369-6110.
by Miranda VanderLeest, WXPR
