The Butler County Sheriff's Department has a busy couple of months ahead as it checks in with tobacco sellers.

“It's fair warning,” said Sheriff Michael Slupe.

The department will enforce tobacco sales regulations, especially looking at the sale of tobacco to minors.

In November 2019, state legislators changed the law, making it illegal to sell tobacco to anyone under the age of 21. In December 2019, former President Donald Trump raised the minimum age to 21 in the federal law as well.

The changing of the federal law forced the change immediately, and so the entirety of 2020 was under these requirements. The legal age set at 18 existed for more than two decades.

“We've been doing (the checks) for years,” Slupe said. “I figured, let's put it out there since the age changed.”

Slupe said a handful of school-age children will participate in the checks by walking into more than 200 sellers countywide. He said the children will try to purchase tobacco products, and a deputy will be nearby observing the transaction.

Slupe said the deputy will most likely be in uniform.

“We're not trying to trick people,” Slupe said. “The important thing is the clerk asks for the student's ID.”

Slupe said he hopes the sweep will be completed by the end of May, but they have a more formal deadline of June 30.