MODESTO – It's getting harder for teens to smoke.

The Stanislaus County Health Services Agency announced a huge decline in illegal tobacco sales during a press conference here Thursday.

A 1995 survey revealed that 45 percent of stores in Stanislaus County would sell tobacco products to minors, while the results of the survey conducted in April and May of this year showed that number had dropped to only 12 percent.

"We've had a dramatic decrease in the number of illegal sales," announced Heather Duvall, the county's health educator. "Every day 3,000 kids start smoking or chewing tobacco in America. We're working to prevent this. If kids can't get cigarettes or smokeless tobacco it makes it that much harder for them to start."

Gruenig attributed the decline to an aggressive media campaign aimed at educating convenience store owners, clerks and the general public about the laws and penalties accompanying illegal sales. She also cited an increase in the use of a toll free hotline (1-800-5-ASK-4-ID) used to report illegal sales and a general increased awareness and belief in the community of the dangers associated with use of tobacco products.

The survey of 155 stores included 18 in Turlock, two of which were willing to sell to minors.

The protocol for the study called for an underage youth (ages 14-17) to attempt to purchase cigarettes, cigars or chewing tobacco from a randomly selected store. A "sale" was considered made once the clerk "rang up" the merchandise and asked for the amount due.

The youth was then instructed to indicate that she/he did not have enough money and leave the store. None of the participants ever left the store with tobacco and each one was accompanied by an adult chaperone who witnessed the transaction and recorded the events while pretending not to know the teen.

The survey revealed many interesting facts surrounding the illegal sales. For instance, in six out of the 19 "successful" purchases, youth were asked for identification but were still able to buy the products even though their identification indicated they were underage.

The study also showed that younger clerks were more likely to sell tobacco products to teens than older clerks and that underage males were more likely to "successfully" make a purchase.

The city of Salida had the highest purchase rate, 75 percent, with three of four stores willing to make the sale. In seven county towns, Crows Landing, Denair, Hickman, Hughson, Keyes, Waterford, and Westley, all attempted purchases were denied.

Reprinted by permission of Turlock Journal.