Illegal tobacco sales in Washington state risk federal funding

The state is teetering at the edge of losing federal dollars for drug, alcohol and tobacco prevention and treatment due to a high number of retailers caught illegally selling tobacco to minors, health officials said.

Last year, more than 17 percent of Washington retailers tested in controlled buys sold tobacco products to people younger than 18, according to the state Department of Health in a report released Wednesday.

The tests typically involve sending in monitored teens to see if they can purchase tobacco from a business.

Walla Walla County had the highest failure rate in the state at 30 percent, said Harvey Crowder, director of the Department of Community Health.

Of 24 attempted controlled buys in the county, seven retailers failed to comply with the law, a significant increase from 2014. That year, out of 26 attempted tobacco buys, only one retailer failed the test.

Statewide, Washington’s 2015 retailer noncompliance level is the highest it’s been since the state began tracking in 1997, when the rate was 19.8 percent.

If the rate exceeds 20 percent, the state could lose federal funding for drug, alcohol and tobacco prevention and treatment, health officials said in a news release.

More than 1 in 6 retailers in Washington are selling tobacco to minors and that’s an unacceptable number, said state Secretary of Health John Wiesman.

“When kids get their hands on tobacco, it can lead to a lifetime of addiction, poor health and early death. In our state tobacco is the No. 1 cause of preventable death,” he said.

“Tobacco retailers need to follow the law and help us grow the healthiest next generation.”

Nearly nine 9 out of 10 people who smoke start by age 18, and 104,000 Washington youths alive today will die prematurely from a disease caused by smoking, he added.

Wednesday’s report is the result of federal legislation enacted in 1992 that requires states to enact and enforce laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors, and to annually conduct random, unannounced compliance checks.

Before 2009, the state put a lot of resources into youth tobacco prevention activities and retailer education, said Department of Health spokeswoman Julie Graham.

State and local retailer checks, combined with proactive education, made a significant dent in underage smoking, she added.

Stiff financial penalties for noncompliant retailers was also a hefty hammer.

“It was quite a deterrent, even all the way up to losing the ability to sell tobacco products,” Graham said.

Being caught selling to minors can cost individual clerks $100 and up to $1,500 in fines for retailers. Retailers may also have their license to sell tobacco revoked for up to five years.