Underage tobacco use targeted by city, school
Trinity Standard- November 2007

TRINITY – Education, enforcement and prevention measures to curtail the use of tobacco by minors is being launched by both Trinity police and the Trinity school system.

Using grant funds obtained through the Texas Comptroller’s Tobacco Compliance Office, local officials are launching a three tiered effort to reduce the number of underage smokers.

According to Trinity Police Chief Lynn Gentry, his department has received a grant to help fund “sting operations” in an effort to prevent local merchants from selling tobacco products to those under the age of 18.

“The grant is to help us insure that the merchants in Trinity are in compliance with all state laws regarding tobacco sales,” Gentry said.

And one of the tools that will be used will be “stings” in which underage customers will be sent into local stores by police in an attempt to purchase tobacco products.

Gentry noted that under the law, store clerks are required to confirm the buyer’s age – usually from a driver’s license – before they sell them tobacco products, including cigarettes, chewing tobacco, dipping tobacco and cigars.

Clerks who sell the undercover customer tobacco can be charged with a Class C misdemeanor and could be subject to fines of up to $250.

Gentry added that the owner of the store also can also be charged and be subject to a fine of up to $1,000.

“By doing these tobacco stings, we hope to make our local merchants aware of the situation and encourage them not to sell to minors,” he added.

The police chief said the sting operation has not yet begun but added they will get underway in the near future.

In addition to the operation by the police department, the Trinity Independent School District also will be working to curtail tobacco use by its students.

TISD also received a $4,000 grant from the Texas Comptroller to target underage tobacco use and will be using the money to help fund education programs at the elementary and enforcement programs at the middle school and high school.

Working through Trinity County DARE Officer Britt Gibson, the district will be presenting information on the dangers of tobacco to students at Lansberry Elementary School.

TISD Business Manager Kevin Parish, who is coordinating the local grant, said Gibson’s tobacco information is incorporated into the overall DARE program’s anti-drug, anti-alcohol effort.

“Obviously, $4,000 is not a large amount of money but it will help,” Parish said. “About 70 percent of it will be spent on the education aspect of the program, 25 percent will be spent on enforcement and 5 percent will be spent on reporting back to the state.”

Parish noted that a portion of the education funds are being used to purchase special mouse pads for the school’s computer labs.

“These pads have an anti-smoking message on them that was designed by a local student,” he explained. “It is surprising just how effective these messages can be when students see them over and over and over.”

Under enforcement, the school has contracted with the Trinity County Sheriff’s Department to do periodic sweeps through the high school and middle school looking for anyone in possession of any tobacco product.

Under state law, it is illegal for anyone – regardless of age – to use or possess any tobacco product on school property or at any school sponsored event.

Sheriff Steven Jones said his officers will be issuing citations to students who are found in possession of tobacco.

“We will be acting on tips about who may be smoking and where as well as conducting random sweeps when we visit the schools,” the sheriff said.

Under Texas law, a minor in possession of tobacco also is a Class C misdemeanor and punishable by fines of up to $250. Under the law, courts can suspend the fines but require the student to perform community service or order the student and his or her parents to attend a tobacco awareness program.

Students who fail to successfully complete the community service or tobacco awareness program can be subject to the suspension or denial of their driver’s license or learner’s permit for up to six months.

Jones, who was appointed to the sheriff’s post in April, said he did not learn about the grant program until it was too late to apply this year.

“We will be applying for funding next year and hope to set up a county-wide program similar to that which the Trinity Police Department will be using this year,” he said.

Even though his department has not yet received a grant, Jones said there is nothing stopping him from conducting tobacco sting operations of his own.

“The grant funds just make it easier, but we can still go ahead and conduct our own stings throughout the county,” he said.