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The Daily Cardinal Est. 1892
Thursday, March 28, 2024

Nicotine sales to minors stay constant in 2015

Public Health Madison & Dane County performed 175 compliance checks in Madison of nicotine/tobacco dealers by sending volunteer minors into the locations, according to a new report.

Of the 175, the checks found 32 retailers sold to minors, which was an 18 percent sales rate. This rate compares to 11 percent in Dane County as a whole, which had a separate report. The reports found the rate to be constant in Madison, with a two-point drop in Dane County from 2014.

The reports also found minors were able to buy nicotine e-juice three out of eight times in Madison. It is illegal to sell the juice for e-cigarettes to minors in Wisconsin, but licensing of vape shops varies by municipality.

“Here locally in Madison, and as far as I know, almost all municipalities in Wisconsin, vape shops do not need a license to operate,” said Nina Gregerson, assistant coordinator for the Tobacco Free Columbia-Dane County Coalition. “Retailers who sell tobacco need to have a tobacco license to operate. Vape shops on the other hand, if they don’t sell a tobacco, don’t need a license.”

Although e-cigarettes are often promoted as safe alternatives to traditional cigarettes, little is actually known about the health risks of the devices, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.

“[E-cigarette products] are not regulated by any type of federal agency,” Gregerson said. “The industry is not required to provide ingredients for these products, so pretty much any product can be different from another. And that’s concerning to us because we just don’t know.”

Madison and Dane County vary on their punishments for selling to minors. For the first offense, Madison fines the clerk and establishment $72.60, as opposed to $232 in the rest of Dane County. Both fine over $500 for the second offense.

Madison was above the state average sales rate, which was 14 percent. The highest rate was in West Milwaukee County at 60 percent and the lowest was 0 percent in multiple counties.

Gregerson said the tobacco free coalition will continue efforts to reduce numbers of sales to major.

“In terms of the difference of both the sales rate and the citation cost between Madison and Dane County,” Gregerson said. “It’s just raising awareness at this point, and showing community members and local leaders that there is a disparity between the county rates and the city rates.”

Gregerson also added that most retailers are not selling to minors.

“The majority of tobacco and nicotine retailers in Madison and Dane County should be congratulated for consistently and correctly checking IDs and refusing the sale of these products to minors,” she said in a city press release.

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