Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office fighting underage tobacco use

The Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office is getting a nearly $400,000 grant to help fight underage tobacco use.

The grant is the result of money brought in from Proposition 56, which increased the tobacco tax by two dollars.

The California Department of Justice awarded the Sheriff’s Office a $369,000 two-year grant. The money will be used for enforcement of Minimum Legal Age laws as well as increase tobacco education and awareness programs.

Sgt. Brian Cleveland says the problem isn’t just nationwide, “Specifically underage tobacco use is a huge problem in Santa Cruz County, one of which the sheriffs office would like to address with this grant
money, by doing compliance checks with retailers, doing education in some of the high schools and venues where children visit.”

The Sheriff’s Office will also be able to use the money to hire a full-time Tobacco Compliance Officer as well as a part time account technician who will assist with the coordination of enforcement and awareness activities.

The Tobacco Compliance Officer (TCO) will help enforce the laws throughout the county’s jurisdiction with the goal of a sustained 95 percent compliance rate by 2020.

The awareness also includes specific concerns surrounding electronic cigarettes “if you look at any of the vaping devices and the flavors and common names of some of the tobacco it really targets youth and a lot of the names are directed and really make it approachable for children. And a recent survey actually showed that the vaping is up in our youth especially in high school aged children,” says Sgt. Cleveland.

Anyone caught breaking the compliance rules could be fined up to $200 for the first offense, $500 for a second offense and $1,000 for the third offense.

The Sheriff’s Office said the TCO will also be focusing on raising awareness about tobacco use at schools.

Some high school students KION spoke with said traditional cigarettes are not appealing to them, but they see many peers using vaping devices like the newest one, Juul.

Andrea Silva Solano with the County Health Agency says the Juul devices are concerning, “The Juul, which is the most recent and the one that has just kind of exploded in popularity, looks like a USB. So it fits in the palm of your hand. And can be concealed in the palm of your hand.”

Silva Solano say while they do not look like cigarettes, they are just as dangerous and often what pull kids in since their smell and look is disguised, “they are just as harmful, just as addictive and have been linked to several respiratory diseases.”

According to the Sheriff’s Office, a local 2017 survey of eleventh graders revealed that 35 percent had used tobacco in this manner, whereas six percent of seventh graders admitted to vaping.