Survey cites teen smoking in decline

Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2006 | 7:34 a.m.

Megan Phillips doesn't smoke, but if the Silverado High School freshman did, there would be no shortage of ways to get cigarettes.

Schoolmates and friends' older siblings are typical providers. Even strangers in a store will retrieve a pack for a few extra bucks, Phillips said.

"Kids tell each other which stores to go to," Phillips said. "Most kids who don't smoke, it's not because they can't get them (cigarettes). It's because they have parents like mine -- my mom would shoot me if I smoked."

While the percentage of Nevada middle and high school students who said they were smokers has declined over the past two years, those who were underage had a better success rate buying cigarettes from stores and gas stations, a new survey shows.

In the 2005 Nevada Youth Risk Behavior Survey, students who said they had smoked cigarettes in the prior 30 days declined at both the middle and high school levels. But of the 9.7 percent of middle schoolers and 18.3 percent of high schoolers younger than 18 who said they had smoked, a higher percentage reported being able to buy cigarettes without being asked to show identification.

Of the high schoolers who bought cigarettes, 45.5 percent said they were not asked for ID, up from 39.5 percent two years ago.

A Del Sol High School senior, who asked that his name not be used because he didn't want to get into trouble, said he began smoking several years ago. Store clerks rarely asked him either for his age or to see ID, the student said.

"I usually get smokes from other people," said the student, who at nearly 18 has a tall, muscular build and the beginnings of a goatee. "I know where to buy 'em if I have to."

To Stori Rivera, a junior at Palo Verde High, the physical appearance of the person attempting to buy tobacco products should be irrelevant.

"The clerks should automatically ask for ID, no matter what," said Rivera, who is a member of the Clark County Health District's youth anti-smoking initiative. "A lot of these young girls are looking a lot older than they are because of the way they dress. And my mom's about 35 and she looks 18 years old. It's impossible to guess anybody's age anymore."

The Nevada attorney general's office conducts sting operations in which minors volunteer to try to buy tobacco products without an ID.

Last year the underage volunteers were able to buy cigarettes 14 percent of the time, down from 15 percent in the prior year, said Brad Towle, a Nevada Bureau of Alcohol and Drug Abuse health program specialist.

The findings of the sting operation and the Youth Risk Behavior Survey are not comparable, Towle said.

"When kids go to buy smokes, they go to where they know someone will sell them," Towle said.

There has been a consistent decrease in the percentage of successful cigarette buys in the undercover program because the checks have increased, said Vicky Oldenburg, senior deputy attorney general who ovesees the state's compliance program.

All of the state's retail outlets that sell tobacco products and are accessible to youths are inspected two times a year. State officials want to increase the frequency to three visits annually.

Clerks who sell tobacco products to underage buyers face fines and civil penalties of up to $1,000. The state also provides Phillip Morris with a monthly report of stores in which clerks have been cited for illegal tobacco sales. The tobacco company withholds sales bonuses from those stores to encourage owners to properly train employees and follow the law.

Nevada is one of 34 states that recently announced a new partnership with 7-Eleven to reduce sales of tobacco products to minors. The convenience store chain joins Rite-Aid, Walgreens and Wal-Mart -- along with Arco, Amoco, BP, Exxon and Mobil gas stations -- in agreeing to adopt voluntary policies for training employees and monitoring tobacco sales.

Emily Richmond can be reached at 259-8829 or at emily@lasvegassun.com.