The percentage of Tucson-area stores cited for illegal tobacco sales is on the rise, and state officials are blaming the uptick on e-cigarette sales to minors.
Seventeen of 66 local retailers failed undercover inspections in the first six months of this year β a 26% failure rate, the stateβs latest figures show.
Thatβs a substantial spike from the last six months of 2018, when the local failure rate was 10%.
Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced the trend in a recent news release, citing federal research that found 51% of high school-aged youth nationwide have tried vaping.
βAfter decades of progress and decline in youth smoking, the dramatic uptick with youth e-cigarette use is an alarming trend,β Brnovich said.
In Pima County, nearly half of high school seniors surveyed last year for the stateβs Arizona Youth Survey said theyβd tried an e-cigarette or vaping device at least once. The county responded with a new ad campaign this year to discourage future use.
Arizona law bans sales of tobacco products, including devices that vaporize nicotine, to those under age 18. Potential fines range from $300 for an individual to $1,000 for a business.
Of the 17 Tucson stores cited for underage tobacco sales in the first six months of this year, three were repeat offenders, state data show:
- The Family Dollar store at 1354 W. Prince Road, a stoneβs throw from Flowing Wells High School, has failed six of eight state inspections since 2015.
- The Wagon Wheel Post General Store, 6803 N. Sandario Road in Picture Rocks, has failed three times in the last two years.
- Tommyβs Tobacco and Cigar , 6330 E. Golf Links, failed two state inspections in the past six months.
The operators of those three stores declined to comment or didnβt respond to a request for comment.
Fourteen other stores were first-time offenders for underage tobacco sales:
β’ Anthonyβs Cigar Emporium, 7866 N. Oracle Road
β’ Circle K, 6485 E. Golf Links
β’ Circle K, 7900 E. Broadway
β’ Circle K, 6310 E. Golf Links
β’ Speedway, 7910 E. Golf Links
β’ Family Dollar, 3191 S. Kinney Road
β’ Family Dollar, 6641 N. Sandario
β’ Fryβs Gas, 8260 S. Houghton Road
β’ Head East Smoke Shop, 8739 E. Broadway
β’ Quik Mart, 7895 E. Golf Links
β’ Quik Mart, 10265 E. Irvington Road
β’ Safeway, 6360 E. Golf Links
β’ Southwest Smokeless, 5044 N. Oracle
β’ Walmart, 9260 S. Houghton
Two of the local stores recently cited by the state apologized for the lapses.
βWe pride ourselves on being a responsible seller of tobacco products, and we apologize our procedures were not followed in this instance,β said Tara Aston, a Walmart spokeswoman. The Tucson store has redoubled its efforts to avoid future incidents and the person who made the illegal sale is no longer with the company, she said.
Troy Little, president of Quik Mart chain, said the offending store clerks have received refresher training.
βWe realize we have a responsibility to the public and we didnβt live up to it on these occasions,β he said.
Operators of the other stores on the list either declined to comment or did not respond to requests for comment.
