Document text
More kids get hands on tobacco Local use rises, even as fewer stores sell to minors By VICKI GUARINO Jackson County's newest surveys of tobacco use among minors contain good news and bad news for anti-smoking advocates. Fewer stores are selling cigarettes to kids, insisting on seeing proof of age before ringing up sales. But one way or another, more kids are getting tobacco and using it. Tobacco use among Jackson County high school juniors jumped nearly 10 percent in two years. Among sixth-graders, tobacco use here is nearly double the usage statewide. The statistics come from state data and the Southern Oregon Drug Awareness group, gathered during the past several months under grant-funded surveys. A panel of SODA members released and discussed the findings Monday. Students were surveyed for tobacco use in a state monitoring effort. Youths were asked to declare usage in the preceding 30 days. SODA put together teams of shoppers, with an underage customer attempting to buy cigarettes. Shopper Nick Milhoan, who circuited stores in Jackson County two months before his 18th birthday, said that in several instances, cashiers asked for ID but then failed to detect that he was too young. "The biggest excuse I got was ... `Oh, it was just bad math,"' Milhoan said. That store staff were checking ID, and that nearly three-quarters of 110 stores surveyed refused the sale, shows progress, the SODA board concludes. Stores large and small, from Shady Cove to Ashland, were included in the survey. "The good news is most of them knew the intent of the law," said SODA member Jon Gell, the director of medical staffs at both Medford hospitals. Gell was also part of the shopper team. Stores that caught Milhoan or one of the other teens in the SODA test were praised for their interdiction efforts. Those that were ready to make the sale received packets from SODA explaining the prohibition to consumers under age 18, potential penalties and tips on checking ID. Sellers can be fined up to $500. "Our purpose was to educate retailers about the law," said SODA youth coordinator Danya Greene. Beyond tobacco sales, SODA also looked at tobacco salesmanship. Store advertising marketing cigarettes to youth was noted by survey teams. Practices noted by SODA included cigarette posters placed at the eye level of small children, and open cigarette racks next to candy shelves. Greene noted one store that displayed winning entries of a coloring contest high on the wall, above the kid-high cigarette posters. SODA members occasionally persuaded store managers to change such displays. Greene said SODA also works with students in local schools to make them conscious of sales campaigns aimed at them. One new marketing trend, she noted, tries to capitalize on recent efforts to build self-esteem among adolescent girls. These cigarette ads key on "girl power," and identify young and physically active women with a cigarette brand. Gell said the impact such marketing has on youth can be seen in the smoking statistics. Through most of the 1990s, the rate of youth smoking has risen steadily across the country, said Gell. At the same time, the rate of adult smoking has gone unchanged. "In 1992-93 there was a decline, but since then youth smoking has almost doubled," Gell said during the SODA presentation. "We're hoping that is a temporary trend." The reason for the increase in unclear, he said. "But certainly tobacco advertising has been very effective," Gell added. Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA