Looking for help training your store clerks regarding tobacco rules? The “We Card” program created by the Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing is still one of the best programs to assist you and your clerks and to keep the message prominently displayed for your customers.

Retail outlets gain a reputation in the eyes of minors as either being an easy or difficult place to buy tobacco. Minors may often “check out” a store prior to attempting a purchase. Prominently posted signage – such as decals, posters and buttons with the message, “Under 18, No Tobacco: We Card,” puts your customers on notice that your store intends to ask for identification. Signs also serve as a constant reminder to clerks to ask for ID and refuse underage sales.

Effective point-of-sale materials remind employees and customers about the state law and/or store policies and can also help employees determine if a customer is old enough to make a purchase. In a hurried environment, cashiers may make mistakes if left to calculate age on their own. Studies have also shown that many cashiers will ask for ID but then not check the age. An age-of-purchase calendar, such as the one provided by the We Card program, helps take the math out of age verification.

Call We Card to order free age-of-purchase calendars, counter signs, or register decals. Make sure these materials are available at every register. New “We Card” kits or 2003 renewal kits may be ordered by calling: 1-800-934-3968 or online at: www.wecard.org/Pages/order.html