Face-to-face Tobacco Sales: What Retailers Need to Know

Face-to-face Tobacco Sales: What Retailers Need to Know

[Announcer] This podcast is presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in partnership with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. CDC – safer, healthier people.

Tobacco retailers play an important role in protecting kids from tobacco by breaking the chain of tobacco addiction among America's youth. Under new federal law, retailers can only sell cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to customers 18 and older. Federal law sets the minimum age requirement at 18, however states may have a more stringent requirement. To make sure you're in compliance, check with your state.

FDA requires retailers to verify the age of anyone under the age of 27. Retailers are also required to sell cigarettes and smokeless tobacco only in a direct, face-to-face exchange, except in adult-only facilities. A qualified adult-only facility is a place where no one younger than 18 years of age is present or permitted to enter at any time.

Retailers must see the customer with his or her own eyes and physically hand the product to the customer. Retailers shouldn’t use electronic or mechanical devices, such as a TV screen or an intercom, to identify a customer. This requirement helps retailers verify the customer's age and helps prevent children from shoplifting these products. Shoplifting is another way that children can have access to cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products.

For more information on new tobacco federal regulations and how you can break the chain of tobacco addiction, visit www.fda.gov/breakthechain, or follow us on Twitter at FDATobacco. If you have questions about the new regulations, please contact the FDA Center for Tobacco Products Call Center at 1-877-287-1373 or e-mail us at askctp@fda.hhs.gov.

There will be additional podcasts that provide more detail about the new federal tobacco regulations. Subscribe to this series or check back often for updates.

Thank you for working with the FDA and your state to break the chain of tobacco addiction among America's youth. Keep tobacco out of their hands. It's the law and the right thing to do.

[Announcer]For the most accurate health information, visit www.cdc.gov or call 1-800-CDC-INFO, 24/7.