Our view: Baltimore County teens buy cigarettes while county officials dither
Jump to full article: Baltimore (MD) Sun, 2009-10-12
Intro: Earlier this year, the Baltimore County Health Department dispatched two 18-year-old police cadets to 80 local stores where cigarettes are sold. Want to guess how often the teenagers were asked to show some form of identification?
A miserable four out of 10 times.
When county officials surveyed stores close to county middle and high schools, the results weren't much better . . .
If Baltimore County wants to get serious about protecting its teens, the council will not only pass a mandatory ID regulation that meets or exceeds FDA standards, it will instruct county health officials to start enforcing existing law more aggressively. Instead of sending 18-year-olds to buy a pack of cigarettes from a local store, the county should dispatch actual minors - and issues fines to stores that sell to them.
That's what other Maryland counties do. Baltimore County may be the only jurisdiction that conducts pain-free "stings," a concession to the retail community that avoids $300 fines but which fails to adequately protect the county's youth.
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