Four St. Charles Businesses Cited over Tobacco Sales to Minors

Police have cited four local businesses over the sale of tobacco products to minors as part of a tobacco compliance check conducted Nov. 21, according to a release from the St. Charles Police Department.

The Police Department issued citations for unlawful sales of tobacco to a minor at:

• BP Gas, 1660 W. Main St.

According to the Police Department release, the compliance checks were conducted using a 17-year-old girl, and a 17-year-old boy, as  civilian special agents. The checks were conducted at 34 businesses, which also were inspected for required signs and for the presence of synthetic tobacco or bath salt products.

The Police Department release states the compliance checks were the first of three inspections to be completed in 2013-14 under the State-Funded Tobacco Grant.

During the last grant period, the Police Department checked 108 businesses, with four cited with unlawful sales of tobacco to a minor, for a 96 percent compliance rate.

The compliance checks look at adherence with Illinois state laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco to minors. The grant was awarded by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission’s “Kids Can’t Buy Em Here” Tobacco Enforcement Program. That grant has helped St. Charles to educate retailers on minimum-age tobacco laws and the importance of verifying the customer’s age, as well as to conduct tobacco law compliance checks.

According to the Police Department release, St. Charles has participated in the program since 2005.