Tobacco ruling crimps state’s stings

Friday, March 24, 2000 | 1:57 a.m.

Deputy Attorney General John Albrecht said Thursday that state law remains unchanged and that the law calls for fines of as much as $500 against store clerks who sell cigarettes to youths.

But Albrecht said that his office's sting program of sending minors into stores to see whether they can buy cigarettes may be curtailed for a while.

The attorney general's office received $240,000 a year from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to conduct the stings. The money ends because of the court decision. The state has appropriated $58,000 for the tobacco stings.

The attorney general's office reports that the stings have reduced the number of juveniles who could buy cigarettes to 23 percent in the most recent checks. In 1994, when the stings began, 64 percent of juveniles who tried bought cigarettes.

In its 5-4 decision Tuesday, the Supreme Court ruled that the FDA lacked the authority from Congress to regulate tobacco as an addictive drug. The court said the agency overreached its authority in 1996 when it sought to crack down on sale of cigarettes to juveniles.

The FDA required stores to demand photo identification from all tobacco buyers under the age of 27.

Albrecht said store clerks still can card people who look underage before they sell them cigarettes.

"It's a helpful reminder for clerks to check," said Albrecht about the 'We Card' signs in stores. "I don't think the decision will bring any change at all."