County Executive Robert P. Astorino Thursday congratulated 20 Yonkers businesses that refused to sell cigarettes to a minor, to mark the 36th national Great American Smokeout.
The 20 businesses were put to the test on Nov. 15 by a Westchester County Health Department sting team that includes a minor and two sanitarians. (The list of vendors visited yesterday is included below.)
“These merchants were caught doing the right thing, just as the majority of vendors do every day by refusing to sell cigarettes to teenagers,” Astorino said. “It’s important to reinforce our partnership with businesses who work with the county health department to keep tobacco out of the hands of our children. It’s also rewarding for me to share with you that the overwhelming majority of all tobacco vendors in the county do comply with the law. And the enforcement efforts of our health department remind merchants and kids that Westchester County will not tolerate the sale of cigarettes to minors.”
Dr. Sherlita Amler, Commissioner of Health, said these efforts can help the next generation stay healthier by avoiding the harmful effects of tobacco.
“Among adults who have ever smoked, 70 percent started smoking regularly at age 18 or younger, and 86 percent at age 21 or younger,” Amler said. “That’s why this work is so important. It’s helping to prevent today’s kids from becoming the adult smokers of tomorrow.”
The Westchester County Department of Health conducts ATUPA (Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act) enforcement checks year round at establishments throughout the county. “Sting teams” visit delicatessens, stationery stores, tobacco stores, supermarkets, pharmacies, gas stations, grocery stores, variety stores and bars.
The great majority of merchants visited by the "sting teams" are found to be in compliance with the law. Of the 4,773 inspections conducted between 10/1/10 to 9/30/11, 98 percent of merchants complied with the law.
Nearly all, or 4,684 inspections resulted in no sale to a minor. The 2 percent non-compliance rate equates to 89 sales
made to a minor in that period. There are 1,097 tobacco vendors, including 13 vending machines, in Westchester County and each is visited approximately four times in a twelve month span.
The sting operation works like this: a minor, working undercover for the Department of Health, attempts to buy a tobacco product from a merchant's establishment. Once the minor leaves the establishment, the inspector who witnessed the transaction will either issue a citation to the vendor for selling tobacco to the minor or congratulate the vendor for not selling it and award the establishment with a certificate to display in their business. The ATUPA program is funded by $268,519 grant from the New York State Department of Health. The program is staffed by two full-time sanitarians and five to ten 16 and 17 year old students.
The vendors visited yesterday were: CVS #534 at 2262 Central Park Avenue; Tanglewood Stationery at 2264 Central Park Avenue; Crestwood Convenience Store at 16C Crisfield Street; LaStella Deli at 6 Young Avenue; Westchester Tower Deli at 1853 Central Park Avenue; Pathmark #293 at 1757 Central Park Avenue; Tuckahoe Deli at 1581 Central Park Avenue; Shell at 1001 Central Park Avenue; Cigar Emporium at 777B Central Park Avenue; Getty at 757 Central Park Avenue; Shell at 731 Central Park Avenue; Raceway Convenience Store at 579 Central Park Avenue; Raceway Gas at 535 Central Park Avenue; Sunoco at 493 Central Park Avenue; Harry’s Cigars at 650A Central Park Avenue; Lukoil at 944 Central Park Avenue; Deli N Things at 1570 Central Park Avenue; Getty at 1800 Central Park Avenue; Sunoco at 1940 Central Park Avenue; Pathmark #298 at 2540 Central Park Avenue.
For more information about the Health Department’s ATUPA program or the Great American Smokeout, visit www.westchestergov.com/health.