July 28, 2000

Two Turlock High School students, Xacsiel Diaz 17, and Brian Bosque, 16, stopped at the AM/PM Arco station at 2015 W. Main St., Thursday and tried to buy a pack of cigarettes from the clerk at the counter.

Martha Del Real, a community health worker with the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency drove the two to the gas station.

Del Real went into the store first and then the two boys followed.

The exercise was all on the up-and-up since Del Real and her two cohorts were just one of 17 groups of three that fanned out across the county in search of stores willing to sell tobacco to minors.

The county-wide survey headed up by Heather Gruenig-Duvall, coordinator of the Stanislaus County Health Services Agency's Tobacco Education Program, had plans to survey at least 177 businesses, 21 in the Turlock, Keyes and Denair areas.

"I think the number of potential illegal sales will decrease from last year. I think on the whole, most store owners are trying to do what's right when it comes to tobacco sales to minors," Del Real said.

Preliminary results of Turlock businesses surveyed showed they did very well during the survey. According to Gruenig-Duvall, 22 businesses were surveyed and only one attempted sale was recorded, a 4.5 percent rate.

However, county results from yesterday's survey were not as encouraging with a 16.9 percent illegal sales rate -- up from last years 12.3 percent.

"Business in Stanislaus County showed dramatic improvement between 1995 and 1999. It now appears that some businesses are not taking the law seriously and that is disturbing. The legal issue is obeying the law, but the moral issue is putting the health of our children first" Gruenig-Duvall said.

California lawmakers passed the STAKE (Stop Tobacco Access to Kid Enforcement Act) in 1994 which makes it illegal to sell tobacco products to minors and designed to protect the health of children.

Fines, if cited for the illegal sale of tobacco to minors, range from $300 for a first violation to $6,000 for a fifth and any subsequent violation.

Since this exercise was a survey, neither of the boys would actually buy cigarettes.

"Once it gets to the point the clerk is asking for money, the boys will make some excuse about leaving their money in the car and leave the store without actually buying anything," Del Real said.

If it reaches that point, the threesome will mark the store as one that would have sold tobacco to a minor.

In situations like the one at the AM/PM, the store is shown as having refused the sale.

Both young men said they weren't nervous being involved in this quasi-sting survey.

"I have done this before when I lived in Las Vegas," Bosque said. "I helped there by going into casinos trying to gamble or buy cigarettes."

However, it was Diaz's first time out but he said it probably wouldn't be a big deal for him either.

Diaz and Bosque came to volunteer for the survey in different ways.

"I was in summer school and Martha came to our class to talk about using tobacco; She told us about the survey and I volunteered," Diaz said.

Bosque said his mom was looking for volunteer opportunities on the Internet and found information about the survey. She brought it home to her son and he made a phone call to sign up.

Diaz walked into the store first, followed by Bosque.

Diaz took a pack of cigarettes from a display rack and laid them on the counter.

Mike Camarillo, a six-month employee at the store immediately asked for identification. Diaz couldn't produce an ID and Camarillo took the pack back.

"He asked me for a photo ID. I told him I didn't have one and he grabbed the cigarettes and took them back when I told him I didn't have one," Diaz said.

Statistics from 1995, the first year the county conducted the survey showed a 54 percent sales rate to minors.

By 1999, Gruenig-Duvall said that number had declined to 12.3 percent.

State-wide numbers indicated the illegal sale of all types of tobacco products to people under the age of 18 was 16.9 percent in 1999.

"Smoking for some people is their choice but for minors maybe they need to wait for the time they are old enough and mature enough to handle it more responsibly," Bosque said.

According to Del Real, this is the third year the County Health Service's Tobacco Education Program has conducted the survey.

"If a store was noted as having attempted to sell to minors last year, I'm sure they are on the list to be visited again this year," Del Real said.

In spite of the good results in the county last year, Deal Real thinks this year's survey will show even better numbers.

"If we find a store that will sell to minors, we will follow up with a visit. We'll provide the store owner with a copy of the penal code, let them know what the penalties for selling to a minor are and provide them other educational materials," Del Real said.

Camarillo, when told he had done the right thing by Del Real, said it is pretty easy to not to sell to minors.

"I card everybody when it comes to selling cigarettes and beer," he said.

"We have safety meetings monthly and it is always emphasized to card people trying to buy cigarettes. My assistant manager Sherry Kimbro trained me and really emphasized the law about cigarettes and minors," Camarillo said.

Theresa Jones, a customer service associate who also helped trained Camarillo said, "We see very few kids trying to buy. I guess the word is out that our store won't sell to minors. One of the first things I told Mike was that we don't care what they say -- If they can't prove their age with a valid ID we won't sell them tobacco products."

Reprinted by permission of The Turlock Journal.