Norwich — Norwich police will work with the Norwich Prevention Council and youth volunteers in the coming months to check local businesses for compliance with laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco, vaping and other nicotine products to customers under age 21.

The goal of the compliance checks is to ensure that tobacco and nicotine products are not being sold to youths under age 21 and is part of a broader effort by the Norwich Prevention Council to reduce the use of tobacco and nicotine products among youths, the prevention council said in a news release announcing the checks. The council also plans to do education programs, issue messages targeted at youths and lobby for stricter regulations and policies.

The prevention council cited the strong partnerships with police, local business owners and community groups to ensure compliance with state laws.

“Norwich businesses have always proved diligent in protecting our youth from harmful substances,” said Norwich police Sgt. Nicholas Rankin, a member of the community policing unit. “We expect to see similar results during this year’s inspection.”

The community policing unit has been involved in various prevention initiatives over the years.

According to a 2019 Norwich school survey, 5% of Norwich students between seventh and 12th grades have experimented with an electronic nicotine device. Of those, 2.1% reported using an electronic nicotine delivery device within the previous 30 days. Less than 3.5% of all students responded that they had experimented with cigarettes, and of those, 2.4% used cigarettes within the previous month.

The Norwich Prevention Council cited a report by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that showed a decrease in the use of any tobacco or nicotine products among middle and high school students. An estimated 4.47 million youths used tobacco products in 2020, down by 1.73 million from the 6.2 million in 2019.

E-cigarettes have been the most commonly used tobacco product among youth since 2014, the CDC report said. In 2020, approximately one in every five high school students, or 19.6%, reported that they used electronic cigarettes in the past 30 days — a decrease of 27.5% from 2019.

The Norwich Prevention Council is recruiting community members and leaders for future prevention projects. Anyone interested in getting involved with the coalition should contact Rayallen Bergman by email at rbergman@cityofnorwich.org.

c.bessette@theday.com