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RETURN TO INTRODUCTION TO BEST PRACTICES
State Law and/or Store
Policy
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.
When clerks fail to ask for ID, swift disciplinary action
works well when used appropriately (when forming policies,
remember, cashiers who fail compliance checks can often
be the ones who never fail again). Hold management as
well as clerks accountable for their store’s compliance
with the law.
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We Card
Recommended Policies
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Third-party sales — a clerk may suspect an
adult customer is purchasing tobacco products for
a minor.
If you have reason to believe that an adult is buying
tobacco for a
minor, the responsible thing to do is refuse the
sale. In a number of states, the clerk and/or the
buyer can receive stiff fines and even jail time
when an adult purchases tobacco on behalf of a minor.
Customer who appears to be 18
or older but without ID.
Under the law, you are required to verify that the
person attempting to purchase tobacco products is
18 or older. For your own protection, check the
ID of anyone who appears to be under 27 years of
age.
Customer who takes the product
and leaves the money.
Treat this situation as a theft. Don’t ring
up the sale. Get a description of the person and
notify your supervisor.
Regular adult customer without
ID who approaches new clerk.
New clerks need to verify the age of all adult customers
who appear to be under the age of 27. Other employees
should not "vouch" for the age of customers.
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Require all employees to pass a test.
A test is a good way to find out if an employee really
understands the state law and store polices about selling
tobacco products. Require all new hires to take a test
focusing on tobacco sales before they get behind the sales
counter. The We Card program can provide employee guides,
reviews and quizzes.
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