3 Bel Air Retailers Cited for Underage Tobacco Sales

The Harford County Health Department reports it has issued criminal citations to six retailers, including three in Bel Air, for selling tobacco to minors.

The department inspected 59 tobacco vendors throughout the county in May and June, as part of a compliance effort that will be ongoing through 2016, according to Bill Wiseman, spokesman for the Harford County Health Department.

These stores were cited for selling tobacco to people under 18 years of age, the department reports:

• 7-Eleven at 1818 Emmorton Road in Bel Air
• Royal Farms Store #170 at 2201 Jack Lane in Bel Air
• Wawa #582 at 2300 Churchville Road in Bel Air
• Walgreens at 2016 Rock Spring Road in Forest Hill
• Rite Aid at 606 Hoagie Drive in Forest Hill
• Highs Store #86 at 3711 Federal Hill Road in Jarrettsville

The inspections came as the department conducted “intensive, store-by-store educational outreach” to educate the more than 200 tobacco retailers in the county about compliance, according to Wiseman.

Tobacco retailers are supposed to check for identification if someone looks younger than 27, according to the health department, which reports that statewide, more retailers have been found not carding underage customers.

The rate of tobacco use among young people in Harford County is higher than the state average, Wiseman said.

As a result, the health department is making an effort to curb that trend by educating retailers about the laws, conducting enforcement patrols and posting billboards along US 1 in Bel Air and on Pulaski Highway near MD 543.

“The sale of tobacco in any form, e-cigarette or vaping product to anyone under 18 years of age breaks federal and state laws. We want and need the public’s help in reporting any suspicious activity to us,” Wiseman said.

He added: “Harford’s three leading causes of death—cancer, other diseases of the lung and heart disease—all are related to smoking and other tobacco use. The health of the next generation is at stake, and restricting youth access to tobacco is just another part of the solution.”

The Harford County Health Department offers free smoking cessation classes. See the schedule here.

Photo courtesy of the Harford County Health Department.