RST Age Verification and Youth Access Prevention 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the federal Tobacco 21 law (effective December 2019), what is the minimum age a retailer may sell tobacco products to in the United States?
- 18 years old
- 19 years old
- 21 years old (Correct answer)
- 25 years old
Correct answer: 21 years old
The federal Tobacco 21 law, signed in December 2019, raised the minimum legal age to purchase tobacco products, including e-cigarettes, to 21 nationwide.
Question 2: Which federal agency is primarily responsible for enforcing minimum age requirements for tobacco sales at the retail level?
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (Correct answer)
- Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
- Department of Agriculture (USDA)
Correct answer: Food and Drug Administration (FDA)
The FDA regulates the manufacture, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products, including enforcing minimum age requirements under the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act.
Question 3: A customer appears to be in their mid-20s when purchasing cigarettes. What is the best practice for a responsible tobacco retailer?
- Use your best judgment based on their appearance
- Only card customers who look under 18
- Card every customer who appears under 27 or 30, per store policy (Correct answer)
- Skip carding if the customer seems mature
Correct answer: Card every customer who appears under 27 or 30, per store policy
Best practice is to card any customer who appears under a threshold age (often 27 or 30) to avoid accidental sales to minors, since visual age estimation can be unreliable.
Question 4: Which of the following forms of identification is generally acceptable when verifying a customer's age for tobacco purchases?
- A school student ID card
- A library card with photo
- A state-issued driver's license (Correct answer)
- A business card with a photo
Correct answer: A state-issued driver's license
A state-issued driver's license is a government-issued photo ID that includes the holder's date of birth and is a standard acceptable form of age verification.
Question 5: If a retailer is caught selling tobacco products to a minor during an FDA compliance check, what is a likely consequence?
- A verbal warning with no record kept
- A civil money penalty and possible permit suspension (Correct answer)
- Mandatory store closure for 30 days
- Loss of the retailer's personal driver's license
Correct answer: A civil money penalty and possible permit suspension
FDA-enforced penalties for illegal tobacco sales to minors can include civil money penalties and, for repeat violations, suspension of the retailer's authorization to sell tobacco products.
Question 6: What does the industry phrase 'If in doubt, card' mean in the context of tobacco sales?
- Always refuse service to suspicious-looking customers
- Request age verification from any customer whose age is uncertain (Correct answer)
- Card every single customer regardless of age
- Only card customers who specifically request a tobacco product
Correct answer: Request age verification from any customer whose age is uncertain
'If in doubt, card' means that whenever a retailer is uncertain whether a customer meets the minimum age requirement, they should ask for valid ID before completing the sale.
Question 7: An electronic age verification system at a tobacco retail counter primarily helps by:
- Automatically ordering more tobacco stock when inventory is low
- Scanning ID barcodes or magnetic stripes to confirm the buyer's age instantly (Correct answer)
- Tracking which employees are working each shift
- Verifying that tobacco products have not expired
Correct answer: Scanning ID barcodes or magnetic stripes to confirm the buyer's age instantly
Electronic age verification systems read the barcode or magnetic stripe on government-issued IDs to instantly display the customer's date of birth and confirm they meet the minimum purchase age.
RST Age Verification and Youth Access Prevention 1
Under the federal Tobacco 21 law (effective December 2019), what is the minimum age a retailer may sell tobacco products to in the United States?