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Bill Targets Online Cigarette Sellers

Study Finds Convenience Stores Also a Prime Source of Smokes for Kids

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

July 11, 2007

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A New York Congressman, John M. McHugh (R), has introduced a measure that would outlaw the shipping of cigarettes and other tobacco products via the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), while a new study fingers convenience stores as a leading cause of smokes for youths.

The Internet-Postal Service connection is the primary source of cigarettes for many minors, McHugh noted. All major commercial shippers have stopped accepting tobacco, but the USPS has taken no action on its own to protect children from cigarette addiction.

"The Postal Service has allowed itself to become a tool of the Internet and mail-order tobacco trade," said James Calvin, President of the New York Association of Convenience Stores.

The legislation has received strong endorsements from health groups and small business organizations such as the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the American Cancer Society, and the New York Association of Convenience Stores.

According to an American Journal of Public Health study, almost 20 percent of the tobacco sales websites do not say anything about prohibiting sales to minors, more than half require only that the buyer indicate they are of legal age, another 15 percent require only that the buyer type in their date of birth, and only 7 percent require any driver’s license information.

State and local governments have lost more than a billion dollars per year in taxes evaded by online tobacco sellers.

All three major shipping companies -- DHL, FedEx, and UPS -- have stopped shipping cigarettes nationwide. As a result, all internet tobacco vendors are using the USPS to make their deliveries, McHugh noted.

Congress alone has jurisdiction over what is delivered via U.S. mail, and because of this inconsistent policy, states face a significant loophole in their tax enforcement policy.

Convenience Stores

But while convenience store operators are applauding McHugh's measure, a study suggests many stores aren't doing much on their own to keep cigarettes away from minors.

Clerks who work in convenience stores that sell gasoline are the most likely to sell tobacco to minors, according to a study appearing in the August issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

“We were surprised that gas-convenience stores were at highest risk for tobacco sales,” said lead author Dave Pearson, of the Group Health Community Foundation in Seattle.

When compared to other retailers such as restaurants, bars and tobacco discount stores, convenience stores selling gas sold the most tobacco products during random checks, according to the study.

To cut down smoking among young people, most states use “youth operatives” to measure compliance with state age requirements. The researchers analyzed data from 8,879 such compliance checks done throughout King County in Washington State between January 2001 and March 2005. Ninety-one youth operatives, ages 14 to 17, conducted the checks.

By checking whether “a sale was made” to a minor, the study found overall underage tobacco sales were 7.7 percent for the study period. Convenience stores selling gas had 9.3 percent of sales, compared with 3.4 percent for tobacco stores, 5.2 percent for restaurants and 7.4 percent for grocery stores.

Pearson said there might be something about gas stations that results in lack of attention to the age requirements. It could be the combination of customers wanting to get in and out fast and clerks being required to multi-task; for example, watching the counter and gas pumps while making financial transactions.

The authors also found that clerks under 18 had “very high” sales to minors, as did female clerks. However, sales to minors dropped when the clerk asked for ID or age of the buyer.

Pearson said to keep tobacco sales to minors low, states must continue to educate retailers and emphasize the importance of asking people to state their age and show ID. The federal government also offers states an incentive to comply.

“The federal Synar Amendment requires states to implement compliance check systems to verify that youth tobacco sales stay below 20 percent to receive federal substance abuse prevention and treatment dollars,” Pearson said.

Danny McGoldrick, vice president of research for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, agrees that compliance checks are important.

“The more compliance checks you do, the more compliance you get, which makes it harder for kids to get cigarettes and sends a consistent message about the product,” he said.

“Having an age requirement law on the books isn’t enough, however,” McGoldrick added. “You have to enforce it with regular compliance checks and meaningful penalties [fines] because, unfortunately, it’s all these vendors understand.”

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