Rite Aid to nip sales of tobacco to minors.

Byline: Tim Christie The Register-Guard

Under fire for tobacco sales to minors, Rite Aid has become the latest large retailer to reach an agreement with state attorneys general, including Oregon's Hardy Myers, to do a better job of turning away youngsters who try to buy cigarettes.

Faced with accusations it was violating state tobacco-sales laws, Rite Aid agreed to adopt tougher policies in its 3,400 stores, including 70 in Oregon and four in Eugene and Springfield.

Rite Aid, based in Camp Hill, Pa., is the country's third-largest drug store chain after Walgreens and CVS.

The settlement involved attorneys general in 20 states.

The chain is the most recent focus of an ongoing multistate enforcement effort focusing on retailers that have high rates of selling tobacco to minors. The attorneys general already have reached similar agreements with Walgreens, Walmart and all gas stations operated under the Exxon, Mobil, ARCO, BP and Amoco brands.

Attorneys general have long recognized that youth access to tobacco is among the most serious public health problems, Myers said. Young people are particularly susceptible to the hazards of tobacco, often showing signs of addiction after smoking only a few cigarettes, he said.

"We just have to nip this in the bud," said Myers' spokeswoman, Jan Margosian. "If they start smoking early, it's very difficult to quit down the road."

Studies show that more than 80 percent of adult smokers began smoking before age 18. Every day in the United States, more than 2,000 people younger than 18 take up smoking - and one-third of those people will die from a tobacco-related disease, officials said.

The agreement requires Rite Aid to:

Train employees on state and local laws and company policies regarding tobacco sales to minors, including explaining health-related reasons for laws that restrict youth access to tobacco.

Check the ID of anyone trying to buy tobacco who appears to be younger than age 27, and accept only currently valid government-issued photo identification as proof of age.

Use cash registers programmed to prompt ID checks on all tobacco sales.

Hire an independent entity to conduct random compliance checks in more than 10 percent of all Rite Aid stores.

Prohibit self-service displays of cigarettes, chewing tobacco and snuff, the use of vending machines to sell tobacco products, the sale of cigarette look-alike products, and the distribution of free samples on store property.

Prohibit the sale of smoking paraphernalia to minors.

Margosian said Rite Aid was targeted because of its high rate of tobacco sales to minors. The corporation deserves credit because "they knew there were too many sales getting by to minors and they wanted to work with us."

Rite Aid spokeswoman Jody Cook declined comment on why Rite Aid had high rates of tobacco sales to minors. But she said when attorneys general approached Rite Aid about reducing those sales, the company decided to work with them.

"Our goal would never be to sell to underage buyers," she said.

Many of the policies Rite Aid agreed to were already in place, she added.