In 1999, Mercer Island retailers were only at 67 percent compliance. Retailer compliance increased to 92 percent in 2000. The checks were conducted in February and March at Simba's 76, Albertson's, Mercer Island Star Mart, both QFCs, Long's Drug Store, Wan Lung Restaurant, Rite Aid, Islander Pub and Grill, Mercer Island Texaco, north-end Chevron, Mercer Island Shell, Walgreen's and the Denny's Restaurant. It is illegal for merchants and adults to provide tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18. The Public Health Department uses minors between the ages of 14 and 17 to conduct the stings.
Retailers refusing to sell tobacco to the minors receive a certificate.
Both the clerk and the retailer are fined by the state Liquor Control Board if caught selling tobacco to minors and are educated regarding selling tobacco responsibly. Every King County retailer is checked at least once a year, according to Hewett. If a retailer sells tobacco to a minor, a second sting is usually performed within four weeks. The more compliance checks and retailer education, the higher the compliance rate will go, Hewett said. When the Tobacco Prevention Program began in King County in 1989, the compliance rate was only 34 percent, which means 66 percent of the time, minors were able to purchase tobacco.