THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 13, 1997 TAG: 9702130551
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEPHANIE STOUGHTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 90 lines
Beginning Feb. 28, baby-faced smokers may want to start carrying photo IDs when they purchase cigarettes. That's because store clerks, even if they believe customers are 18 or older, may be forced to say ``no.''
Under new federal regulations, merchants must get proof from customers who appear to be 27 or younger. Failure to check could mean trouble, even if the person meets the legal smoking age of 18, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's new tobacco regulations.
Other rules ban cigarette vending machines in open areas and restrict in-store displays of tobacco products.
Retailers aren't too happy about this (and neither is the tobacco industry.)
Officials at Southland Corp., operator of 7-Eleven stores, say the new rules will be costly and burdensome. The Dallas-based company adds that government should chase after underage smokers - not the merchants.
Many Hampton Roads merchants aren't sure how to interpret the regulations and say complying will be awkward.
Angelo Mele, owner of Dixie Grocery Store in Norfolk's Ocean View section, says he doesn't mind eyeing customers more cautiously, looking for signs of teen-age youths and the under-eye wrinkles that reveal age.
But he has one question:
``How are you going to tell whether they're 27 or not?'' he asked. ``We'll be carding people who are 35. Some people are going to be upset.''
Mele is even more concerned about a regulation that he says will force him to rearrange or eliminate sections of his small convenience store.
``The way the rules read, I either have to ban children from coming into my store or put all the cigarettes in a restricted area,'' Mele said. ``The only way I can put them in a restricted area is to do away with my deli department.''
Last year, the FDA announced new tobacco regulations that it says will cut teen smoking in half. The photo ID requirements begin Feb. 28. Additional rules designed to curb tobacco advertising, access and promotions take effect later this year.
In August, stores won't be allowed to have self-service displays and vending machines accessible to youths. Also, merchants must ensure that all in-store tobacco ads are in black and white.
``That's on shopping baskets, displays, door decals, trash cans - everything,'' said Barry Hawkins, president of the Virginia Food Dealers Association in Richmond.
Vending companies say they aren't too concerned about the regulations. Over the years, the sale of cigarettes through vending machines has declined, said James Davis of Atlantic Dominion Distributors in Virginia Beach.
That's mainly because cigarettes cost more in vending machines due to the service required, he said. ``Twenty years ago, we had about two thousand cigarette machines,'' Davis said. ``Now, we have about 150 from here to Myrtle Beach,'' S.C.
Most of the remaining cigarette machines are located in bars, where they should be out of reach of minors, he said.
However, officials with other vending companies said there are a handful of businesses, like bowling alleys, that still have cigarette machines in open areas. That will have to change, according to the FDA rules.
The FDA will hire state inspectors to check whether retailers are violating the regulations. Stores caught selling to youths will get a warning the first time, but will face $250 fines for each additional violation. MEMO: Businesses with questions about the FDA regulations can attend a
video conference from 1 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. at the Movies at Kempsriver,
1220 Fordham Drive, Virginia Beach. Registration is free but must be
made in advance. Call Leonard Genova at the FDA in Baltimore,
410-962-3731. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS/file photo
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New regulations will ban cigarette vending machines in open areas
and restrict in-store displays of tobacco products.
KEYWORDS: SMOKING CIGARETTES TOBACCO TEENAGERS