About one in every three Maryland stores that sells cigarettes sells them illegally to underage customers, according to WAMU.
Maryland conducted inspections at random between May and September and discovered 32 percent of stores sold cigarettes to customers younger than 18. In some counties, the rate was much higher.
While federal law requires stores to check IDs on customers younger than 27, just 37 percent of underage customers in Maryland were asked to show ID, according to the report.
As a result, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene is working to increase enforcement and seeking to raise penalties on retailers and requiring licenses to sell tobacco products.
