TOBACCO-POSSESSION LAW ISN'T THE ANSWER

Police concede a new state law that makes it illegal for anyone under 18 to possess tobacco products will be difficult to enforce. If police don't take an active approach to enforcement, these youngsters will likely continue smoking in public without fear.

It already is illegal to sell tobacco products to anyone under 18, and retailers for the most part are abiding by that law. There are some who don't, of course. Cigarette machines are readily available for youngsters' use. And it isn't that difficult for young smokers to find someone of legal age to buy their tobacco for them. Those who want to smoke will find a way to get tobacco.

Under the new state law, which goes into effect at the end of the month, minors caught with tobacco will be guilty of an infraction and can have their cigarettes or other tobacco products confiscated. And they can be fined. A second violation will mean mandatory attendance at a tobacco-education or smoking-cessation program. The offender will have to pay to attend the program and will be responsible for court costs.

A Cape Girardeau police spokesman said enforcement of the law won't be high on the department's priority list. That is understandable considering underage smoking won't rank high on the list of criminal wrongdoings. But police still should enforce the law when the opportunity presents itself. They enforce the state's law prohibiting underage possession of alcohol with regularity. While underage tobacco possession will be a lesser offense, enforcement, if for no other reason, will help serve as a deterrent to young smokers.

Regardless of what the government does to try to prevent youngsters from becoming hooked on tobacco, the best deterrent is education, which is working to some extent. Not as many young people are taking up the habit today as they were before the emphasis was put on educating children about the dangers of tobacco use, but even greater emphasis is needed, and parents can best fulfill that mission.

At best, the new law adds to the conflicting messages government continues to send about tobacco: It's OK to grow the crop and received subsidies. It's OK to manufacture cigarettes on which exorbitant taxes are collected. It's OK to use tobacco products if you're old enough. It's OK for those same tobacco-taxing governments to sue tobacco companies to recover the cost of tobacco-related illnesses. It's OK to fine retailers for selling cigarettes to minors. And now it's OK to punish minors for possessing tobacco.