ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, September 17, 1996 TAG: 9609170092
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
SOURCE: JOHN SOLOMON ASSOCIATED PRESS
NOTE: Below
In a little-publicized provision, President Clinton's crackdown on youth smoking encourages states to use minors in stings to detect illegal tobacco sales - or risk losing federal aid.
The government says its new rule did generate a healthy dose of responses from citizens about the physical and psychological safety of undercover children and their ability to understand legal issues such as entrapment.
But it says examples around the country - including an Illinois town where stings using junior high school students have had a dramatic impact - show that such problems can be solved with proper adult supervision.
``We took into consideration the impact on youth in any of these sting operations,'' said Mark Weber, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services agency that implemented the rule. ``We are working with the states to do it in a way that is acceptable to us and that is acceptable to them.''
The rule was issued in January by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, which distributes $1.2 billion a year in drug treatment and prevention funds.
It mandates that all states have mandatory inspection programs by next year to catch businesses that illegally sell tobacco to children. Those that don't comply risk losing federal drug-prevention money.
The rule leaves it to the states to determine how to catch illegal sales, but strongly urges the use of undercover stings with children at least two to three years younger than the legal smoking age, 18.
``The department believes that the use of minors in inspections is very effective,'' the rule states.
For states where officials are considering alternatives, the government warns, ``The department has not identified evidence of any other workable or valid method'' and the department's system to determine whether states are meeting expectations ``is based on the `sting' method.''
States begin submitting their enforcement plans for federal approval this month.
The tobacco industry's trade group says it supports crackdowns on illegal sales but has reservations about using minors.
``Any time you use kids essentially to break the law, it does send a mixed message,'' said Walker Merryman, vice president of the Tobacco Institute. ``And it's obvious on its face that 13-year-olds are not terribly sophisticated about the intricacies of the law.''
Experts say most communities that do stings use students ages 12 to 15. Parental permission is obtained, and the children aren't paid.
``I think it really has become that age group, because it is really about then that they begin talking about it in their health classes,'' said Ginny Markell, the Parent-Teacher Association's vice president for programs. ``For them, it is something they can do for their communities that is positive.''
Although the national PTA would not ordinarily advocate stings, some local chapters have participated, she said. ``It seems to grab the policy-makers' attention when you can have a 13-year-old walk into any convenience store and actually purchase'' tobacco, she said.
The government says it got several negative comments during the rule-making process, although it could not immediately identify anyone who contributed.
``A number of commenters expressed concern that a child may not be sufficiently mature to understand undercover procedures and inadvertently entrap a retailer,'' the government said.
It said many others were concerned that such an approach ``could have a detrimental impact on minors'' if their undercover role were discovered or they were forced to testify and be cross-examined.
Weber said his agency proposes that states follow several safeguards in stings, including:
*Obtaining parental consent;
*Ensuring the children are supervised by adults with proper legal training, preferably an agency that can provide proper insurance;
*Providing proper training;
*Making sure the children conduct stings only at stores where they are unknown.
In the Chicago suburb of Woodridge, Ill., more than 80 percent of its three dozen outlets used to sell tobacco products to minors. That dropped to 11 percent since stings began in the late 1980s, said Deputy Police Chief Geoff Korous.
At the start, the stings mainly involved police officers' children. But the department now recruits at the local junior high school. Written parental permission is required, training is provided and students can participate only once.
``We are very pleased by the response we have received from the community,'' Korous said. ``It can be kind of exciting for them to go out with a police officer on an undercover thing.''
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