NEW YORK—Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and Department of Consumer Affairs (DCA) Commissioner Jonathan Mintz last Thursday released a list of 195 "dirty dealers" in New York City that have had their tobacco retail licenses revoked over the past two years for selling on two or more occasions to teens. Overall, the investigation found that 84 percent of cigarette dealers do abide by the age restriction.
"Most smokers start at an early age, making children the most vulnerable to getting hooked on cigarettes," said Mayor Bloomberg. "Our administration is using every tool available to ensure that businesses don't sell cigarettes to kids—and it's working."
To uncover the "dirty dealers," DCA runs the Youth Tobacco Enforcement and Prevention Program where teens, ages 15-17, work with agency inspectors to go undercover to curb illegal sales to minors. Accompanied by a DCA inspector, teens conduct routine inspections at stores year-round in all five boroughs.
Commissioner Mintz said, "Compliance is high, but when it comes to protecting our kids, it's not high enough. If you see a retailer selling cigarettes to kids, help us stop them by calling 311."
DCA licenses more than 11,000 tobacco retailers in New York City. DCA cites retailers who do not obtain proper proof of identification before making a sale. City fines are $1,000 for the first offense and $2,000 for the second, plus possible license revocation. Licenses are revoked for a minimum of one year.
According to the Department of Health, nine out of ten kids in New York City are nonsmokers, better than the national average of about eight out of ten.
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