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Sept. 16, 2005

Mayor Lauds High Compliance Rate, State-Local Partnership

For the eighth year in a row Woodbridge Township has achieved the top compliance rate in a state campaign to prevent the sale of tobacco products to underage persons, Mayor Frank G. Pelzman announced today.

During the 2005 inspection cycle in the Tobacco Age of Sale Enforcement Program (TASE) , Woodbridge achieved a 94% compliance rate in visits by investigators to 84 retail establishments. It was the eighth year in a row in which the Township achieved a compliance rate of 94% or higher.

TASE is operated by the New Jersey State Department of Health and Senior Services. It sends youth participants, ages 14 to 17, into randomly selected retail establishments in an attempt to purchase tobacco products. The youths are recruited from local high schools, undergo training by Woodbridge Township Health and Human Services Department personnel and are under supervision of a licensed health inspector. The program is paid for entirely through funds from the Federal/State Tobacco Settlement Fund.

“This innovative program has been very successful,” says Mayor Pelzman. “Thanks to the state grant, we do not have to spend local taxpayers’ money.” In addition, notes the Mayor, the Township accrued approximately $1,800 in court fine revenue assessed against retailers that sold tobacco to TASE investigators.

“The increasing compliance rate among merchants is a sign that the overall anti-smoking message is gaining ground,” says Dennis Green, Director of Woodbridge Township Health and Human Services Department. “It is an excellent step in helping us reduce the rate of tobacco use among young people in Woodbridge.”