Two St. Joseph businesses failed to pass a tobacco compliance check Monday night in St. Joseph.

The St. Joseph Police Department, Buchanan County and Youth Alliance teamed up to hold compliance checks on area businesses Monday night from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.

Sgt. Larry Stobbs with the St. Joseph Police Department said out of 25 businesses checked, two sold tobacco products to a minor.

“Typically we see about a 10% failure rate,” Stobbs said.

Four officers were assisted by a 17-year-old.  Stobbs said the teen is required to tell the truth about his age if asked by the clerk when trying to purchase a tobacco product.

“He looked underage, and the Federal Government says you have to ID if they look under 27,” Stobbs said.

The two businesses that sold to the minor were Loud SmokeWare located at 3301 Mitchell and South Belt Liquor & Smoke located at 2724 S. Belt Hwy.

“In these cases they asked for his ID and sold anyway,” Stobbs said. “Part of the problem was neither one of the clerks who sold last night had any training.”

In St. Joseph, individuals that work at a place that sells alcohol are required to obtain an Alcohol Server License that includes education on how to check IDs.  Stobbs said one of the clerks was also cited for not having a Alcohol Server License.

The tobacco compliance check was part of efforts surrounding National Prevention Week that runs May 17 to 23.  It’s a week dedicated to increasing public awareness of, and action around, substance abuse and mental health issues.

“The reason we do the alcohol and tobacco checks is we’re trying to keep those products out of the hands of these kids and we’re trying to get the stores to do the responsible thing,” Stobbs said.

In light of National Prevention Week, the St. Joseph Youth Alliance plans to hold a presentation Thursday at 11:30 a.m. at Grave Evangelical Church to talk about how legalization of marijuana would affect the community and workplace.

(Edited)