FDA pressures stores selling tobacco to kids
Agency accuses 15 retailers after launching more than 1 million checks
FDA: Tobacco being sold to minors 15 national retailers accused of violations.
The Food and Drug Administration is accusing 15 national retailers, including Walgreens, Walmart, and several gas station chains, of selling tobacco products to minors.
The agency disclosed Monday that it is considering “enforcement avenues to address high rates of violations” at the retailers after more than 1 million undercover checks this decade allegedly found high rates of sales to youth.
The FDA said it also sent letters to more than 40 companies that may be illegally marketing certain tobacco products or e-cigarettes. Federal regulators are concerned about increased nicotine vaping among teens, which can lead to cigarette smoking. Tobacco use is a major cause of cancer and other health problems.
The FDA is initially targeting Walgreens for what it described as a “disturbing” record of illegal sales to minors “since the company positions itself as a health-and-wellness-minded business.”
About 22 percent of more than 6,350 Walgreens locations sold tobacco prodWalgreens ucts to minors in an FDA probe, the agency said.
“We sent a letter today to the corporate management of Walgreen Co. to request a meeting to discuss whether there is a corporate-wide issue related to their stores’ track record of violating the law by illegally selling tobacco products to kids,” Scott Gottlieb, the FDA commissioner, said in a statement.
Walgreens said: “We welcome the opportunity to meet with the Commissioner of Food and Drugs to discuss all of the steps we are taking regarding this important issue.
“We have a zero tolerance policy prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to minors and any employee violating this policy is subject to immediate termination.”
The nation’s largest drugstore chain by the number of locations said it requires age verification of all purchasers.
“While lowering the visibility of tobacco products in certain stores, we also continue to focus efforts on promoting cessation products and services, and all of our pharmacists and technicians are trained and certified on supporting any customer wanting to quit on their terms,” Walgreens said.
rival CVS health stopped selling tobacco products in 2014.
The FDA said the following chains had tobacco sales violation rates of:
❚ Between 35 percent to 44 percent: Marathon, Exxon, Sunoco, BP, Citgo and Mobil gas stations.
❚ Between 25 percent and 34 percent: Shell, Chevron, Casey’s General Stores and 7-Eleven.
❚ Between 15 percent and 24 percent: Family Dollar, Kroger, Walgreens, Circle K and Walmart.
Some of the chains flagged by the FDA do not own or operate the locations that operate under their brand names, such as Exxon and Mobil stations.
It was not immediately clear whether the FDA would still target the corporations whose brand names were implicated in the agency’s investigation. The agency called them “national retail chains, either corporate-owned or franchised.”
“We will ask them to share with us what policies they have in place and what more they can commit to do to prevent youth tobacco sales,” Gottlieb wrote.