Should employees be fined for tobacco sales to minors?

City councilors in Springfield, Mass., are considering a proposed ordinance that would levy a $100 penalty on store clerks found to have sold tobacco products to underage consumers, and the New England Convenience Store Association told NPN MarketPulse that the idea makes sense.

“NECSA does not oppose a fine on a store clerk who violates the law,” said Diana O'Donoghue, executive director of the association. “It is NECSA's position that despite a retailer's best efforts and employee training, one unconcerned or even disgruntled employee could violate the law and cause a store to be fined or, worse, to lose their license. So if despite training, a store clerk fails to check identification and a violation occurs, punishing the individual who made the violation makes sense and encourages personal responsibility. This course of action would help ensure that future violations do not occur by that individual.”

The challenge of curbing tobacco sales to minors frequently makes headlines. In July, a study found that within the Seattle market convenience stores with gas pumps were the most likely local businesses to violate laws banning the sale of tobacco to minors. The study was conducted by the Group Health Community Foundation in Seattle.

The plan to establish tougher penalties in Springfield, Mass., will likely be voted on in August, according to a July 11 article by Mike Plaisance in The Republican, a newspaper in Springfield.

Retailers seeking guidance on how to avoid selling tobacco to underage consumers can refer to literature available from The Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing, a group of companies and trade associations that includes the National Association of Convenience Stores, Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co.

One of the Coalition’s main functions is to understand and communicate retailers’ best practices regarding tobacco sales, allowing retailers to benefit from the experiences of others.

The Coalition has collected information about retailer experiences by working with thousands of retailers nationwide since 1995, such as the nearly 100,000 retailers trained in more than 1,900 We Card classroom training sessions. It has also worked with many local agencies to provide retail education and training.

The Coalition has compiled what has been learned from these experiences into the We Card Guide to Best Practices which serves as a comprehensive guide to preventing underage tobacco sales.

The Best Practices guide includes the following tips:

Require every employee to ask for identification in the form of a valid photo ID from any person who looks under the age of 27.

Carding people who look under 27 years of age remains a safeguard against selling tobacco to underage purchasers. Because people can don clothes, makeup, or even facial hair to make them look older, the best practice is to ask for ID from anyone who appears under the age of 27.

Educate employees about state laws and store policies.

All 50 states and the District of Columbia have state laws making it illegal to sell tobacco products to any person under the age of 18 (19 in Alabama, Alaska, New Jersey and Utah). Make sure new hires understand their state law. Store policies about when to ask for ID and disciplinary actions for selling tobacco to underage customers should also be clearly communicated to all employees.

Make sure store policies are fair and consistent.

Setting up fair and consistent store policies is a good way to make sure employees clearly understand their responsibility to refuse underage sales, especially those in situations not covered by state law.

More information is available at the coalition’s Web site: www.wecard.org