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Smoking Crackdown

Teacher Wendy Norcross could not believe her eyes. Her students, ages 13 to 15, went into gas stations and convenience stores across Montgomery County, Maryland, pretending to want cigarettes. "Marlboro Lights, please." "A pack of Kents." Only two of 12 store clerks asked kids if they were old enough to buy tobacco. The other 10 clerks started to hand over packs of cigarettes, until the students informed them that they were breaking the law.

"The clerks got so angry," says Norcross. Her students belong to Students Opposed to Smoking (S.O.S.), a group she leads. "Some of the clerks didn't even know the legal age for buying tobacco. The kids couldn't believe how easy it was to buy cigarettes."

A new law designed to keep kids from starting to smoke should make it tougher. As of February 28, signs should have been posted in every store that sells tobacco, announcing that anyone 27 or younger who tries to buy tobacco products must show a driver's license or other identification proving he or she is of legal age. Stores that don't play by the rules face a fine of at least $250.

Selling tobacco to kids under 18 is illegal in every state. In some states, buyers must be 21. Even so, about 5.5 million kids under 18 spend $1.6 billion on tobacco a year. In one study, nearly half the kids who bought tobacco said store clerks never asked their age.

Now federal inspectors are cracking down. Local governments and antitobacco groups are sending teenage detectives like Norcross's students into stores to buy cigarettes or chewing tobacco. Stores that make the sale are reported. Anyone who knows of a store that sells tobacco to kids can call a toll-free number (888-FDA-4KIDS) to report it.

"It's really time to start taking seriously the sale of tobacco products to young people," said retiring Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner David Kessler.

Taking Aim At Joe Camel
After decades of studying the deadly effects of smoking, the FDA wrote the new rules. The goal: to cut underage smoking 50% over the next seven years. The new proof-of-age rule is just the first step.

A second step, which goes into effect in late August, takes aim at Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man. For years health officials have complained that cigarette ads featuring such characters give kids the idea that smoking is cool. Under the new rules, many cigarette ads will look about as lively as the phone book. If magazines that appeal to young people print tobacco ads, the ads will have to be in black and white with no pictures.

Giant billboards showing gorgeous models puffing Virginia Slims will also be banned. Billboards will have to be black and white, without pictures, and they must be more than 1,000 feet from schools and playgrounds.

For many kids, the easiest way to get cigarettes has been from a vending machine. The new laws will make this tougher too, by pulling the plug on vending machines in grocery stores and other places where young people can use them.

The law will also end tobacco companies' offers of free hats, backpacks and other stuff decorated with cigarette logos. As of March 1998, cigarettes' brand names may not be used to promote sporting and entertainment events. The government says tobacco companies must kick the habit of making smoking seem fun to kids.

"Most of us have an instinctive urge to protect our young people," President Clinton said. "We teach them to look both ways before crossing the street. We tell them not to touch a hot stove. We should wrap that same protective arm around them when it comes to resisting smoking."

Big Tobacco Is Fuming
Of course, states that make a lot of money from growing tobacco don't like the plan. It cuts their sales! When the proof-of-age rule was announced, officials in Big Tobacco states North Carolina and Virginia said they would not enforce it. They have since changed their tune: "It's the law," said North Carolina attorney general Mike Easley.

Tobacco companies have joined a lawsuit to block the new restrictions. They claim to support efforts to stop kids from smoking. But cigarette makers say it is not legal for the government to control their business. The FDA insists that because the nicotine in cigarettes is addictive, they must regulate tobacco just as they do other drugs. Tough battles in court over the tobacco laws lie ahead.

Will the new rules really stop kids from buying cigarettes? Some kids are already discouraged, says Anna Santiago, 14, of Highland Park, Illinois, who represents the Campaign for Smoke-Free Kids: "A lot of them are quitting because it's too much of a hassle."

President Clinton was thrilled when he heard of Anna's comment. "That's the idea," he said.

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• Someone who smokes a pack or more of cigarettes a day lives seven years less, on average, than a nonsmoker.
• The largest rise in teenagers' starting to smoke was in 1988, the year that Joe Camel was introduced nationally. From 1989 to 1993, there was a 64% increase in youths' buying Camels.
• In Utah 13% of adults smoke, the lowest rate in the country. Kentucky is highest: about 28%.
• A 1993 study found that 45% of underage cigarette buyers were not asked for proof of age.
• Tobacco use is the nation's leading preventable cause of death.

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