Locke Set To Sign Tobacco Bill Measure Would Make It Illegal For Minors To Possess Cigarettes, Adds Tougher Penalties

The teenager smoking outside a hamburger stand Tuesday said she might not have started her habit at 14 had someone tried to stop her. She applauded the coming crackdown on underage smokers in Washington.

“Maybe if the police had of harassed me, had of hassled me more, I wouldn’t have smoked,” said Carol, an 18-year-old Olympia High School senior who declined to give her last name because “my parents don’t know I smoke.”

Carol was talking about Gov. Gary Locke’s scheduled signing today of a measure that would make it illegal for people under 18 to possess tobacco. Minors caught in possession of tobacco would face a $50 fine, four hours of community service and an order to enroll in a smoking cessation class.

Locke’s press secretary, Marylou Flynn, said the Democrat intends to sign the bill, which would take effect June 12.

Currently, minors can be fined $50 and be forced to join a smoking cessation program if they are caught buying tobacco - a penalty that police, educators and parents’ groups contend isn’t enough.

“I think a lot of kids are still going to smoke even with this (new law),” Carol said. “But I think a lot of kids wouldn’t get started if they know the police are going to get them if they’re carrying (cigarettes).”

While clamping down on underage buyers, the new law would ease up a bit on stores that sell tobacco to minors. It would give the state Liquor Control Board, which regulates tobacco-use laws, more flexibility when deciding whether to penalize a retailer caught selling to minors.

Instead of automatically imposing the penalties prescribed under current law - which can include loss of license to operate and heavy fines - the board would be allowed to go easier on offenders if it found they had tried hard not to sell to minors.

“It allows the responsible retailers to plead their case before the Liquor Control Board,” said Amy Brackenbury, director of the 500-member Washington Association of Neighborhood Stores.

“It also allows the liquor board to weed out the bad apples that are intentionally selling to minors. We’d like to see the board be able to go after those retailers, because they give the rest of the industry a black eye.”