Full Notification

MEDIA RELEASE
Contact: Sergeant Greg Stark
Release Date March 12, 2020
Release Time: 1:30 pm
Unlawful Sale of Tobacco Related Products
On March 5, 2020 Deputies from the Calaveras County Sheriff’s Office conducted a problem oriented enforcement operation.
During this operation, a person who was under the age of 21 and who was cooperating with the Sheriff’s Office was asked to attempt to purchase a vape pen containing flavored nicotine from a store in Valley Springs.
During the transaction, the clerk of the store checked the identification of the “customer” which confirmed that he/she was not old enough to legally purchase the product. Despite this information, the vape pen was sold in violation of the law. The minimum age to purchase tobacco related products in California is 21.
A citation was issued to the clerk, Guillermo Escobar-Ibarra, (38 years old) for violation of 308(A)(1) P.C. (Knowingly furnishing a minor with Tobacco).

How to prevent kids from smoking
• Maintain a dialogue. Begin talking with your kids about smoking at a young age. Most people start smoking between age 11-14 years old.
• Don’t talk about just cigarettes. Children are exposed to cigars, e-cigarette (vaping), and smokeless tobacco. Several of these are flavored options.
• Talk to your children about peer pressure and how they can respond to a situation where a friend offers them tobacco products.
• Talk openly about the negative long lasting effects of using tobacco products.