News
BRECKENRIDGE — Tobacco products have changed. Once simply rolled in paper and sold as cigarettes or cigars, tobacco now comes in many styles, packages and flavors. Tobacco products sold in some Summit County stores now resemble tic-tacs, dissolvable strips and chewy sticks. They are brightly packaged, infused with fruity flavors and targeting one specific audience, say representatives of the Summit Prevention Alliance: kids.
And more than 60 percent of Summit County's underage smokers say they have no problem getting their hands on those products.
“When our own kids in our high school are telling us it's easy to get tobacco, we need to do something,” Summit County Commissioner Thomas Davidson said.
Surveys of kids show the problem is worse in Summit County and surrounding areas than elsewhere in the state. Summit's kids, according to the answers given by local youth, smoke more frequently, use smokeless tobacco more often and start using tobacco at a younger age than the state average. The numbers in all of those categories have also increased from 2008 surveys, according to data provided by the Summit Prevention Alliance.
“That's how addiction really begins,” said Carli Seeba, the tobacco education coordinator for the SPA.
For county officials, the numbers and statistics were discouraging.
“It's not fun to look at a map of the state and see your county colored in in dark red with the highest percentages of underage smoking,” Davidson said.
But the right action to take to turn around such alarming trends is not immediately clear. Tobacco products are an important source of revenue for many local small businesses and the county doesn't have a lot of extra funding immediately available to address the problem.
Generally, both the Summit Board of County Commissioners and Sheriff John Minor are committed to increasing compliance checks on tobacco retailers in the short term. But the problem, the commissioners said, may require a more permanent solution.
“I think we need more than spending money on compliance checks,” Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier said. “(We need) some mechanism in place, some licensure or registration that makes in much easier for us to have some real clout that forces compliance. I don't know what that is yet.”
She said the county isn't interested in imposing heavy tobacco licensing fees for retailers, but does need to have a way to take quick, decisive action against anyone who sells tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18.
For now, officials say, the county is moving forward on stepping up compliance checks on tobacco retailers. Even that process will require time and dollars from the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
“Resources are scarce,” Minor said. “We're going to look at it, but we haven't made a decision on when to start (the checks). I can tell you that it's going to happen. So brace yourself.”
Meanwhile, the Summit Prevention Alliance has ongoing community outreach programs and continues to work at the schools to educate kids on tobacco.
And more than 60 percent of Summit County's underage smokers say they have no problem getting their hands on those products.
“When our own kids in our high school are telling us it's easy to get tobacco, we need to do something,” Summit County Commissioner Thomas Davidson said.
Surveys of kids show the problem is worse in Summit County and surrounding areas than elsewhere in the state. Summit's kids, according to the answers given by local youth, smoke more frequently, use smokeless tobacco more often and start using tobacco at a younger age than the state average. The numbers in all of those categories have also increased from 2008 surveys, according to data provided by the Summit Prevention Alliance.
“That's how addiction really begins,” said Carli Seeba, the tobacco education coordinator for the SPA.
For county officials, the numbers and statistics were discouraging.
“It's not fun to look at a map of the state and see your county colored in in dark red with the highest percentages of underage smoking,” Davidson said.
But the right action to take to turn around such alarming trends is not immediately clear. Tobacco products are an important source of revenue for many local small businesses and the county doesn't have a lot of extra funding immediately available to address the problem.
Generally, both the Summit Board of County Commissioners and Sheriff John Minor are committed to increasing compliance checks on tobacco retailers in the short term. But the problem, the commissioners said, may require a more permanent solution.
“I think we need more than spending money on compliance checks,” Commissioner Karn Stiegelmeier said. “(We need) some mechanism in place, some licensure or registration that makes in much easier for us to have some real clout that forces compliance. I don't know what that is yet.”
She said the county isn't interested in imposing heavy tobacco licensing fees for retailers, but does need to have a way to take quick, decisive action against anyone who sells tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18.
For now, officials say, the county is moving forward on stepping up compliance checks on tobacco retailers. Even that process will require time and dollars from the Summit County Sheriff's Office.
“Resources are scarce,” Minor said. “We're going to look at it, but we haven't made a decision on when to start (the checks). I can tell you that it's going to happen. So brace yourself.”
Meanwhile, the Summit Prevention Alliance has ongoing community outreach programs and continues to work at the schools to educate kids on tobacco.
