The Centralia Police Department reports two retail tobacco establishments sold to youth buyers during the latest compliance check completed on Thursday.
Police Chief Greg Dodson says the businesses that sold were Farm Fresh West and Lincoln Liquor. The Farm Fresh Clerk Jessica Bender and Lincoln Liquor clerk Neha Bhakta were both issued citations for the sale of tobacco to a minor and given a notice to appear in court.
The other 18 licensed retail businesses in Centralia did not sell, which is a compliance rate of 90-percent.
The compliance checks were completed as part of the ‘Kids Can’t Buy ‘Em Here’ Tobacco Enforcement Program. The City of Centralia has been educating tobacco retailers on minimum-age tobacco laws and the importance of verifying the age of their customers while conducting compliance checks of area retailers.
90-percent of current adult smokers stated their addiction to tobacco started before they were legally able to purchase the product.
The legal age for purchasing tobacco products including vape products that contain Nicotine is 21.
