The new inspector will likely begin doling out civil citations this fall, after oral and written warnings are given, he said.
Without involving minors in the inspections, the ability to catch stores selling to those under 18 is hindered, said Michael Strande, head of the Legal Resource Center for Tobacco Regulation, Litigation and Advocacy at the University of Maryland School of Law.
"To have an agent stand outside a store and hope a child enters and leaves with cigarettes seems like a waste of time and resources and an ineffective program to begin with," Strande said.
He says he knows of no other jurisdiction where officials share Baltimore County's position on involving minors in inspections. In some areas, teenagers seek to help with the undercover inspections as a community service.
In doing its random inspections, the state does not allow the teenagers to actually purchase the cigarettes, in part because the agency is not authorized to issue penalties.
Officials send letters to store owners after the inspections, decreasing the likelihood of any confrontations between the store owners or clerks and the teenage inspectors.
State officials say they also take precautions, including having an adult with the teenagers during the checks and never allowing the minors to try to buy tobacco in bars.
Some council members and other elected officials say they want to assess the effectiveness of the county's approach to reducing tobacco sales to minors before they ask county officials to revise the program.
Del. Dan K. Morhaim, a Baltimore County Democrat, said he will be monitoring results carefully. "We'll want to see if it works and how it compares to other jurisdictions," Morhaim said. "The county ought to use every tool available to reduce the use of underage tobacco use and underage drinking."
laura.barnhardt@baltsun.com
Tobacco sales to minors
The Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene did 575 random inspections of retailers last year to determine compliance with the state law banning sale of tobacco products to those under age 18. The percentage of retailers found in compliance:
Allegany County:...88.9
Anne Arundel Co.:...78.6
Baltimore City:...94
Baltimore County:...50
Calvert County:...85.7
Caroline County:...100
Carroll County:...92.9
Cecil County:...100
Charles County:...91.7
Dorchester County:...85.7
Frederick County:...100
Garrett County:...100
Harford County:...90.9
Howard County:...55.6
Kent County:...100
Montgomery Co.:...96.3
Prince George's Co.:...89.2
Somerset County:...66.7
St. Mary's County:...77.8
Talbot County:...83.3
Washington County:...93.8
Wicomico County:...81.8
Worcester County:...88.2
Source: Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
