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To the Editor: In their Research Letter, Dr Landrine and colleagues¹ present evidence that young smokers can circumvent laws requiring store clerks to check identification cards. The implication is that methods to assess youth access to tobacco are often inadequate and, more critically, that youth access is much higher than generally reported. Inaccurate compliance rates are of special concern to the 4 states (Washington, Florida, New Hampshire, and Maine) that meet federal regulations² and consequently receive funds for substance abuse prevention and treatment. These states rely on compliance checks to enforce the regulation. The experience in Washington State suggests that active education and aggressive checking for compliance may reduce youth access while raising new challenges.

In King County, Washington, retailers are given packets of information including signage, explanations of the law, and (recently) a video that shows clerks how to deal with youth who try to purchase cigarettes. Fines of . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED LETTER

Use of Identification Cards by Underage Youth to Purchase Tobacco
Hope Landrine, Elizabeth A. Klonoff, Delia Lang, and Roxanna Alcaraz
JAMA. 2001;285(18):2329.
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