3 SLO County stores cited for selling tobacco to minors
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Three San Luis Obispo County stores were cited for selling tobacco products to minors over the week of Halloween during a sting operation.
The sting operation spanned 45 stores in unincorporated areas of San Luis Obispo County, according to a Wednesday news release from the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office.
The agency used minor “decoys,” or individuals younger than 21, to attempt to purchase tobacco products. Those minors were under direct supervision of Sheriff’s Office compliance deputies.
The decoys were able to purchase tobacco products at three of the 45 targeted stores, the release said.
“The goal of these ongoing joint efforts is to reduce youth access to addictive tobacco products, promote community health, and ensure retailers comply with state and local laws,” Maria Bautista, health educator with SLO County Public Health’s Tobacco Control Program, said in the release. “It is alarming that locally, 61% of 11th graders report that it is easy or fairly easy to obtain vapes — also known as electronic smoking devices — according to the 2023–24 California Healthy Kids Survey.”
Retail clerks who sell tobacco to a minor face misdemeanor charges and fines ranging from $200 to $1,000, the release said. Business owners may also be cited, which can carry up to a $1,000 fine and possible suspension or revocation of their business license depending on prior violations.
For more information on the minor decoy operation or San Luis Obispo County’s tobacco control program, contact Amy Gilman at 805-781-4305 or email agilman@co.slo.ca.us.
