INDIAN RIVER COUNTY — The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office and the Substance Awareness Council will be stepping up enforcement of underage tobacco use, officials announced Thursday.
Those under 18 caught with cigarettes or smokeless tobacco products could receive a $25 fine and be required to take a 4-hour tobacco education class. If caught again, they could have either their driver’s license suspended or withheld.
“We now have a process that works,” Lt. Darin Jones of the Sheriff’s Office said, explaining that such enforcement had fallen off due to issues with the wording on the previous citations.
Working with the State Attorney’s Office, the new civil citations are now enforceable, enabling law enforcement agencies to issue citations and expect underage tobacco users to comply.
“It hasn’t had the impact it will now,” Substance Awareness Council Executive Director Robin Dapp said of the anti-tobacco program.
The goal is not to target solely the youth, Capt. Don Smith, of the Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said. Law enforcement agencies, including the Vero Beach, Sebastian and Fellsmere police departments, will be targeting retail stores that sell tobacco products to make sure they are not selling to minors.
“It’s not a one-sided thing,” Capt. Smith said. “We know where the source is.”
“Word is getting out not to sell to minors,” Sheriff Loar said.
Fellsmere Police Chief Scott Melanson said that though his officers have had the new citations in hand for a couple weeks, they have yet to issue any. The chief noted that Fellsmere is unique in that there are few places where youth congregate — most hang out at the Indian River Mall.
Sheriff Deryl Loar said the new citations and program is expected to help underage users break the habit of using tobacco without becoming a blemish on their record.
“It’s a refreshing opportunity” to help the youth without criminally penalizing them, the Sheriff said.
He explained that before the new citation, officers would issue “Notices to Appear” in court and those caught would then have a record that they had to explain to college administrators, potential employers and others.
First-time violators will be served with a $25 civil fine — or perform 16 hours of community service — and take a tobacco education course, which costs $25.
If the violator is caught a second time with tobacco within 12 weeks, the youth would have to pay the $25 fine again.
A third violation within 12 weeks could result in the driver’s license being suspended — if the violator has a license — or being denied a license until a later date, if the violator has yet to receive a license.
Sheriff Loar said that the department would have a list of repeat offenders and it would be up to law enforcement officers’ discretion whether to escalate the charge from civil to criminal.According to the Florida Youth Substance Abuse Survey from 2009, cigarette use among high school students has dropped 9.1 percent from 2000.
Those who are interested in learning more about the new citations or the tobacco education program can contact the Indian River County Substance Awareness Council by calling (772) 770-4811, stopping by the Council at 1507 20th St., Vero Beach, or going to www.sacirc.org.