The Blog

Mary Selecky, Secretary of Health Mary Selecky, Secretary of Health

02/16/09

One of the ways we keep kids from smoking in our state is to make it very difficult for them to purchase cigarettes. Retailers are required to check the I.D. of anyone trying to buy tobacco who appears to be 30 years old or younger. I received some disappointing news recently — the percentage of Washington retailers illegally selling tobacco to youth has tripled since 2006. It’s now 15 percent.

That’s unacceptable and we have to reverse this trend now. The Department of Health is working with local health agencies around the state and the Liquor Control Board to conduct in-person training for all stores that sell tobacco. We’ve also worked with the Department of Social and Health Services to update and create new retailer educational materials in a number of languages. And we’ll soon be offering online retailer training.

If you see a retailer selling tobacco to someone under 18 years old, you can report it on the Liquor Control Board’s Web site. We can also fine clerks and retailers who break the law.

This is important work. We know when tobacco is harder to get, kids are less likely to pick up this deadly habit.