Until the end of June, Mercer County high school students are going to try to buy cigarettes at various shops around the county.

They'll be doing it with police departments' blessings.

At Thursday's county commissioners meeting, Sheriff William Romine told the board about a new, state-funded program aimed at educating tobacco sellers about state laws and reducing the number of stores that sell tobacco products to minors.

The project is funded through state funds received through tobacco settlements. Local police departments will check stores in their jurisdictions, and the sheriff's department will handle areas that don't have their own police coverage. The state reimburses the county and local police departments for mileage on their vehicles and for overtime.

"There's no cost to the county," Romine said.

Romine said students will try to buy tobacco products at stores in the county.

If tobacco products are sold to the teens without asking for identification, the stores can be cited and fined, he said.

The program also makes sure the stores have proper signs in place, and that employees of the stores know the state laws, he said.

The students will be trained, have an adult with them when they try to buy tobacco and must have signed releases from their parents, said Greenville-West Salem Township Police Chief Tom Strahler, whose department has run the program in the past.

After the teens have completed the program, the police departments can use leftover money to give them incentives, such as Savings Bonds or buying them lunch, Strahler said.