By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS • February 25, 2010
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (AP) – A new report says the number of Indiana teenagers who were able to illegally buy tobacco products from Hoosier retailers hit an all-time low last year.
The state’s Tobacco Retailer Inspection Program enlists teens to test whether stores will sell them cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or cigars in violation of state law.
The program’s annual report released Wednesday found that illegal sales were made by retailers in only 5.6 percent of more than 9,000 inspections the program made last year.
When the inspections started in 2000, 40 percent of retailers sold tobacco to minors.
In Indiana it is illegal for a clerk or a retail establishment to sell tobacco products to anyone under the age of 18.