MOST BUSINESSES ALREADY FORGO CIGARETTE SALES TO TEEN-AGERS

It will be business as usual at many stores that sell tobacco products when a new anti-smoking law goes on the books Aug. 28.

That's because many businesses already refuse to sell cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors as a matter of store policy.

The new state law prohibits the sale or distribution of tobacco products and rolling papers to persons under the age of 18.

A random survey of Cape Girardeau area convenience stores and a tobacco store found most have policies restricting the sale of cigarettes to minors, although the age limits vary.

Some stores currently sell to those who are 16 years of age or older, while others refuse to sell to those under 18.

Of the store clerks, managers and officials interviewed, most mistakenly thought there was already a state law on the books prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors.

Even Cape Girardeau County Prosecuting Attorney Morley Swingle said Friday that he thought there was already a state law.

But after doing some research, Swingle said he found that the current state law, dating back to 1939, simply allows cities to prohibit such sales through local ordinances.

Monica Eischen, tobacco control coordinator for the Missouri Department of Health, said a number of cities prohibit the sale of tobacco products to minors.

Statewide, she said, some businesses have policies of not selling tobacco products to minors.

She said there was a state law prohibiting such sales in the 1970s, but the legislature subsequently repealed it.

Both the cities of Cape Girardeau and Jackson have ordinances prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors. But the ordinances have gone virtually unnoticed.

"In 15 years, I haven't seen it enforced one time," said Jackson Police Chief Larry Koenig.

Warren Wells, city attorney for Cape Girardeau, said violations are difficult to spot. "In most instances, you are going to have a willing seller or willing buyer, so the violation goes unnoticed by police," he said.

At Fill-Up Mart, 1101 William, store manager Glinda Seabaugh said the store doesn't sell cigarettes to those under age 16. That policy apparently violates Cape Girardeau's city ordinance.

But Seabaugh said she was under the impression the store was following Missouri law.

She said clerks at the convenience store and service station routinely request proof of age from teen-agers attempting to buy cigarettes.

But she explained that as a practical matter, a teen-ager who drives up to the store is presumed to be 16 and a legal buyer of cigarettes. "If they pull up and they are driving, we pretty well assume they have got a driver's license,' she said.

At Wink's Keg Shop and Deli at 1803 Independence, across the street from Cape Girardeau Central High School, there is no set policy on the sale of tobacco products.

A Wink's employee said it's up to the discretion of the store clerks as to whether to sell cigarettes to young customers in particular, the high school students who come in the store.

As a company policy, Rhodes 101 Stop convenience stores don't sell tobacco products to persons under the age of 18.

"We don't sell the rolling papers at all in our stores. We canceled that about three years ago," said Paul Dirnberger, the company's managing officer.

Dirnberger said clerks at the Rhodes stores have been selling cigarettes to minors only if they see the youngsters are with their parents and it's clear they are buying them for their parents.

The company implemented its tobacco policy about two years ago. "Before that, there really wasn't a policy," he said.

Dirnberger said Rhodes company officials decided to crack down on such sales after discovering that 10-year-olds and 12-year-olds were buying from the company's self-service station at the corner of Pacific and Independence, near the Louis J. Schultz School.

"We just decided to crack down on it and stop it right there," he said.

Tobacco Lane, a local tobacco store in West Park Mall, now requires young buyers to show driver's licenses as proof of age and displays a notice to that effect.

"We were getting younger students in, and we decided we needed to have a sign to discourage them," said store clerk Betty Basler. "We do have a lot of young people in the mall on weekends."

The policy applies to all tobacco products, she said.

Until recently, she said, it had been left up to the discretion of the clerks at the tobacco store as to whether to sell tobacco pro~ducts to minors.

"We have always been cautious about it, but we are more cautious of it now," said Basler.