A service station on Naperville’s far southwest side was the only business out of 70 to fail an underage tobacco sales compliance check conducted by Naperville police, according to a recent news release.
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The BP station at 2888 Book Road and one of its employees received municipal tickets for selling tobacco to a person under the age of 18, according to a police release.
The citations were issued as police in mid- and late January completed the second round of compliance checks involving “approximately 70” businesses that sell cigarettes and other tobacco products, the release stated.
In each case, a boy or girl under the age of 18 was sent inside a business and attempted to buy a tobacco product. All of the employees, except for the one at the BP station, checked the would-be buyer’s identification, and refused to sell the product after determining the customer was underage, according to police.
Police used a grant from the Illinois Liquor Control Commission’s “Kids Can’t Buy ‘Em Here” Tobacco Enforcement Program in conducting the sting.
Police try to impress upon retailers “the importance of verifying the age of customers before selling age-restrictive products such as tobacco,” according to the release. “All tobacco retailers are given an education packet, and are notified (in advance) that the tobacco checks are going to occur in the near future.”