10 retailers cited in latest tobacco sale sting

Ten Ottawa County retailers were cited for underage tobacco sales during the most recent round of quarterly compliance checks.
This latest round of compliance checks completes a year-long operation of ensuring that tobacco retailers comply with the tobacco law, county officials said. In the past year, 177 Ottawa County retailers were checked, with 27 making sales to an underage decoy from October 2008 through this past September.
The compliance checks are part of an effort called "No Cigs for Our Kids." The group partnered with the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department, Holland Police Department and Spring Lake/Ferrysburg Police Department. They focused on Jenison, Hudsonville and Spring Lake Village. Local law enforcement, along with teenage decoys, visited tobacco retailers selected on a random basis to assess compliance with the Youth Tobacco Act, which requires stores not to sell tobacco to anyone under age 18.
"We need to get better results on a more consistent basis if an impact is to be made," said Sgt. Valerie Weiss of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department. "Decreasing opportunities for minors to purchase tobacco at retail stores is a way to reduce access and the initiation of smoking."