Spokane County authorities say they've given teens plenty of warning about the new law. Now, they're making occasional rounds at high schools, handing out tickets like bad report cards. It's long been illegal to sell cigarettes to kids under 18. The new law holds kids accountable as well, by making it illegal to possess tobacco.
Some school principals say the law is already working to cut back on smoking near campus.
At Havermale Alternative Center in north Spokane, Principal George Renner said the school is doing its part to enforce the law by suspending kids who smoke on campus. After suspending 16 teens in one week, educators have caught only a few students lighting up on school grounds, he said. Kids aren't the only ones having trouble adapting to the new law. The courts are having problems deciding how to handle smokers under age 16. This page, and other ASH web pages, may be freely copied and reproduced in print or on other web pages.