Red Deer minors would have no trouble buying cigarettes from many retailers operating near schools, according to results of a test conducted by the local Action on Smoking and Health group.
When a 17-year-old secret shopper entered 12 stores within walking distance of Red Deer schools, two retail clerks did not even asked for her I.D. before they were prepared to sell her cigarettes.
Of the retailers that required identification, 75 per cent were willing to sell the teenager cigarettes even after discovering she was underage, said Gail Foreman, spokesperson for the local group, who did the test last spring.
“These results are appalling and point to the need for improved legislation and enforcement,” she added. “It’s really discouraging to know that the existing laws are not having the desired impact on merchant compliance.”
The local Action on Smoking and Health group turned over results of their unofficial survey of certain Red Deer stores to Health Canada. Foreman said, “It’s up to them to do a follow up.”
Retailers that breach a federal law against selling cigarettes to those younger than 18 can be fined. But it’s up to Health Canada to enforce the rules, said Foreman — and that agency has only six enforcement officers for all of Alberta.
She wants Red Deer parents to know how easy it is for underage teens to buy cigarettes, in hopes they will demand that Alberta enact its own laws against selling tobacco products to minors.
According to Foreman, the test worked like this: The secret shopper entered a store and asked for a certain brand of cigarettes. The clerk was either willing to sell it to her immediately, or asked for I.D.
Strangely, the vast majority of retailers who saw the 17-year-old’s I.D. — even some who checked it against age and birth date charts — were still willing to sell her the cigarettes, she added.
“It’s a little odd. I don’t understand it.”
No hidden camera was used, and the 17-year-old left the store after declining to buy the cigarettes, said Foreman, who was waiting for the teenager in the parking lot.
She believes the “disappointing” test results shows parents how easy it is for children to get tobacco products. “We chose stores within walking distance of at least two or three schools.”
Foreman would like Albertans to lobby politicians for provincial laws that could be better enforced.
lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com