These are the retailers that sold cigarettes to minors last year

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published 22 January 2015

In 2014, the Food and Drug Administration sent retail locations almost 10,000 warning letters and fines over tobacco sales to minors. Vocativ analyzed the letters to determine which stores received the most penalties, and where in America the illicit sales were most common.

Food Lion stores and BP gas stations are "particularly high on the list of offending retailers," Vocativ notes. For every 200 stores, each received an average of one warning letter. BP-branded stations paid the most fines for illicit tobacco sales in 2014, while Shell-branded stations received the most warning letters. As for geographic location, Missouri, Connecticut, and South Carolina had the most violations per capita.

According to Vocativ's data, more than 15 percent of high school students smoke cigarettes, so illicit sales are a significant health risk. Vocativ also contacted each company listed in its violation charts, and many of the gas stations said that their stores are run by individuals, so they "can't completely control what happens at those locations." Still, it's not comforting to see just how easy it is for minors to buy tobacco.