Government of Canada, Health Canada, Healthy Environments and Consumer Safety Branch
Controlled Substance and Tobacco Directorate
2011
ISBN: 978-1-100-18464-7
Cat.No.: H128-1/11-651E
Help on accessing alternative formats, such as Portable Document Format (PDF), Microsoft Word and PowerPoint (PPT) files, can be obtained in the alternate format help section.
Dear Retailer,
Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable illness and premature death in Canada - it is a major contributing factor to a number of chronic diseases and deaths.
As responsible citizens, each of us should be concerned with the well-being of the youth in our neighbourhoods, in our community, in our society. It is up to each of us to help keep harmful substances out of the hands of minors.
As a tobacco retail operator, you have a unique opportunity to protect those under the age of 19 from the serious consequences of tobacco use. You understand that there are laws against selling tobacco and all associated products to minors and by familiarizing yourself and your staff with the rules and regulations of tobacco control, you will be equipped with an answer for most situations.
The sale of tobacco products is regulated both by the Provincial Tobacco Control Act and by the Federal Tobacco Act. Education is key - the regulators of tobacco sales are committed to ensuring retailers in this province are equipped with the information that they need. Within this toolkit, you will find information about your responsibility as a seller of a controlled substance, about how to protect youth, and, of course, about how to protect yourself and your license.
With this information, you should:
This toolkit provides you with a detailed overview of the laws that protect those under 19 from access to tobacco products. You are legally bound to see that everyone who works in your establishment fully complies.
For further information or for answers to your questions, please feel free to contact your Provincial Tobacco Enforcement Office:
As an owner/operator of a retail establishment that sells tobacco products, one of your responsibilities is to stay current with changes to the legislation surrounding this subject in your province.
The following information provides you with some facts you will need to consider as you begin to create your own company policies and procedures. These policies and procedures will protect the youth in your community from access to tobacco products, and at the same time will guide you and your employees through the correct ways to sell tobacco products.
There are many products on the market these days and, as a retailer, you must understand exactly what are considered tobacco products. Further, you need to know which actions you or an employee might take that could have you, as owner/operator, held responsible for the sale of tobacco products to those under the age of 19.
Not all identification is acceptable for use in the purchase of tobacco products. Having the proper information and keeping your employees informed is a sure way to be sure that you are abiding by the laws.
In addition, you need to understand the severity of the penalties handed down for breaking the law.
Also included is a list of questions most frequently asked by retailers and the answers as they pertain to BC.
With a full understanding of this information, you will value how careful you must be in your management of the sale of tobacco products.
Tobacco Products are composed in whole or in part of tobacco. Some tobacco products are:
To sell, lend, assign, give, send with or without consideration, or to barter or deposit with another person for performance of a service. This can (but does not have to) include an exchange of money.
Again, in all cases it is illegal to furnish tobacco to a person under the age of 19.
Retailers must post signs that inform the public that selling or giving of a tobacco product to a young person is prohibited by law, or that contain a prescribed health message.
Retailers may not sell a tobacco product by means of a display that permits a person to handle the tobacco product before paying for it.
Tobacco products or tobacco product-related brand elements may not be promoted, except as authorized by the Tobacco Act or its regulations.
The following section lists how youth are protected from the sale of tobacco products and tobacco accessories:
Thinking someone looks older than they actually are is not a legitimate excuse to sell them tobacco products.
Federal signs are required for retailers who only sell cigarette papers, tubes and/or filters because they are defined as tobacco-related products under the Federal Tobacco Act.
Signs must be placed where customers can see them and they must not be hidden from view. If further information about signs is required, please contact your local Tobacco Enforcement Officer.
It is against the law to sell single cigarettes, little cigars and/or blunt wraps. They must be sold in their original package of 20 or more.
Under no circumstances can customers handle tobacco products before they pay for them.
Vending machines selling tobacco products are only allowed in places not accessible or visible to persons under age 19. (e.g., In bars, taverns, beverage rooms or similar places). They must have a prescribed security mechanism.
Tobacco products cannot be sold in public sector buildings such as health, hospital, government, and recreational.
A good approach is for you to develop a policy which directs your employees to ask to see valid identification when a person who is requesting to purchase tobacco products looks under 25 years of age.
Remember, thinking someone looks older than they are is not a legitimate excuse to sell them tobacco products. Always check for a valid identification.
Federal and Provincial tobacco legislation in BC states that only the following pieces of government issued identification or documentation are acceptable to prove a person's age:
Student cards are not acceptable as proof of age for tobacco purchases.
Any retailer who sells or gives tobacco products to anyone under 19 years of age is guilty of an offence and is liable for monetary fines and possibly prohibitions on conducting sales - increasing with each offence. For more details, please go to http://www.health.gov.bc.ca/tobacco/violations.html
Fine Amounts for Contraventions of the Tobacco Control Act / Regulation as provided under the Violation Ticket Administration.
Number of offences | Fine amount | Prohibited from selling tobacco for |
---|---|---|
1st offence | $575 | n/a |
2nd offence | $575 | 6 months |
3rd offence | $575 | 12 months |
Sample Prohibition sign (suspension sign):
The Tobacco Act requires the sign below to be posted wherever tobacco products are sold or displayed, if provincial signs are not required (e.g., if a retailer only sells cigarette papers, tubes and/or filters).
The sign must be placed where customers can see it.
If you need more signs, please contact a Tobacco Enforcement Specialist at 604-666-3350 or bc.tcp@hc-sc.gc.ca
Provincial law requires that the following point of sale signs be posted where tobacco is sold.
These signs are produced by the BC Ministry of Health and must be posted as described:
These signs must be clearly visible and not covered by other signs or product.
It is the retailer's responsibility to ensure these signs are in place.
If you require additional signs, please contact your local Health Authority Office.
There are only two types of tobacco signs allowed by regulation in a store: point-of-sale signs and product-price signs.
These signs are produced by the BC Ministry of Health and must be posted as described in the regulation.
They include 1) two decals for the cash register or drawer - one facing the customer and the other facing the clerk, and 2) a warning sign to be displayed so the customer can clearly see it when they purchase their tobacco product. These signs can be obtained from your local health authority.
A maximum of three signs per store are allowed to describe the tobacco products available and their price. These signs are restricted in their content, dimensions, colour and print size, and can be produced by the retailer. They may be viewed from inside or outside of the store. See section 4.32 of the Tobacco Control Regulation on the Tobacco Control web site for more details. www.health.gov.bc.ca/tobacco
Sample Prohibition sign (suspension sign):
All tobacco retailers are required by law to display these signs. You may be fined if you do not. Repeated offences may result in suspension or cancellation of your Tobacco Retail Authorization (TRA) license.
Contact your Tobacco Enforcement Officer if there are problems with your signs. It is your responsibility to maintain the signs, ensuring they are visible and readable in your store at all times. Since a defaced sign means you are not complying with the law, you must take all reasonable steps and measures to ensure that the signs are intact and visible.
You must follow both laws. Federal legislation sets a standard for tobacco control across the country and provinces can make additional legislation applicable in that province only. Generally, by following the stricter standard, you should be in compliance with both laws.
Yes. It is strongly suggested that you ask for proof of age if the customer appears to be under 25 years old. It is up to the retailer to determine this number. In some cases, retailers have increased this to 30 and as high as 40. It is your decision. Only government-issued photo identification is acceptable. Student cards are not acceptable forms of identification.
No! It is against the law to sell to people under 19 no matter what the reason. A note, telephone call, verbal consent from a parent, guardian or friend is not acceptable. You can be charged and convicted even if the parent agrees to the sale. No one can give you permission to break the law.
The older person is breaking the law and is subject to a fine. You should tell the adult this, and refuse to make the sale. If they persist, you should advise the local authorities.
You should abide by the laws in your province and be aware that there are heavy fines and penalties, including losing your tobacco vendor's TRA for not doing so. Along with your TRA to sell tobacco comes the responsibility to keep tobacco products out of the hands of people under 19 years of age. Tobacco is an addictive drug, with dangerous health effects. Most people start smoking by age 16. Research shows that when strict laws about selling tobacco are actively enforced, fewer young people start to smoke.
You may wish to point out these facts to your customers. Consider using the Customer Information Cards included in this toolkit to help explain this to customers.
Yes. In BC there is no provision under tobacco legislation that has to do with the age of people selling or handling tobacco products. Retailers can hire people under the age of 19 years to sell tobacco products; however, clerks cannot sell tobacco products to people under 19. It is recommended that retailers may want to provide extra training and monitoring due to the possibility of peer pressure from friends to allow the purchase.
No. A Tobacco Enforcement Officer may enter your store without a warrant and inspect your premises. They may also check to make sure you are complying with the legislation. You and your employees must fully cooperate with the Tobacco Enforcement Officer.
It is a tobacco retailer's obligation to take every step within their power to prevent the sale of tobacco products to those under the age of 19. And when you are not on the retail outlet premises or otherwise busy, you must be able to trust your employees to carry out each tobacco sale according to the law. Much is at risk if they do not.
It is important to devise clear rules for your employees to follow. It is safe to say that most people find it more comfortable to know what is expected of them, how to carry out the tasks set before them, and how to handle the unexpected.
Well thought out policies and procedures on tobacco product sales help your staff members have a good understanding of Federal and Provincial laws (what is and what is not permitted) so that they can make the right decision each time.
By following the next three sections and using the tools provided within each section, you can decrease the chances of selling tobacco products to minors.
Establish store policies and procedures about tobacco sales, including what will happen if people do not follow them. To be effective, these policies and procedures must be an important part of your day-to-day retail operations.
Provide all employees with complete training about Federal and Provincial tobacco legislation as well as your store policies and procedures about tobacco sales. Train employees as soon as you hire them whether or not they have worked in another tobacco retail outlet, and, most importantly, train them before they sell tobacco products.
Regularly monitor employees to make sure they are following both the laws and your store policies about tobacco sales.
In BC, there are Federal and Provincial staff working to enforce tobacco regulations.
For questions concerning:
Please contact the Health Canada Tobacco Control Program:
If you need:
Please contact your Tobacco Enforcement Officer at your local Provincial Health Authority or visit their website:
Want to Quit Smoking?
www.quitnow.ca
or call 1-877-455-2233
(translation in over 130 languages)
Policies are courses of action adopted by a business, and procedures are the steps taken to bring that action to life.
As a retailer, you have many policies in place. One policy might be to make a final bank deposit every night before closing. How you handle your night deposits - the forms you fill out, the checks and balances, even the route to your bank might all be considered procedures.
Developing company Policies and Procedures on how to train and monitor staff on handling the sale of tobacco products are the most important decisions you will make.
The following sections provide retailers with guidelines:
Here are 10 easy steps to help you create policies and procedures for your business to prevent tobacco sales to minors.
With each new product or service your retail establishment offers, you must train your staff. And as you hire new employees, set aside time to teach them the various policies and procedures. Training staff on the best and most efficient methods of retail may be a time consuming duty of owner/operators.
For tobacco retailers, training for all staff members who sell tobacco is a serious responsibility.
Training is the only way to prevent tobacco sales to minors. It is the only way to ensure you and your business will not suffer the penalties levelled against tobacco retailers for breaking the law.
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Calculating the age of a customer from the date of birth can be confusing. Use provincial age-stickers to figure out if a customer is 19 or over. Do not forget to change the stickers each year as required.
Sample of provincial age stickers
Keep an eye out for altered identification. Younger customers may try to change their IDs to appear older.
Here are some ways to spot altered IDs:
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Please initial in the box beside each paragraph to show that you fully understand the requirements of the Federal and Provincial tobacco legislation and store policy.
I,_____________, have read and understand the requirements of Federal and Provincial tobacco legislation and store policy regarding tobacco sales.
Employee Signature:
Date:
Employer/Trainer Signature :
Note: Please keep a copy of this form for your employee personnel files.
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This is to certify that I, ______ (Name of Employer) of ______ (Name of Retail Outlet) have provided tobacco sales training to ______ (Name of Employee).
This employee has demonstrated knowledge of laws and policies to prevent the sale of tobacco products to people under 19 years of age.
Employee Signature:
Date:
Trainer Signature:
Employer/Manager Signature:
Note: Please keep a copy of this form for your employee personnel files.
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Customer Information - British Columbia
Please accept our apologies if we've offended you. According to store policy we must ask for ID from anyone purchasing tobacco who appears 25 years of age or under. We can be fined or lose our licence for selling to someone under 19 years of age. My manager would be pleased to discuss this with you further or you may call your Provincial Tobacco Enforcement Officer.
It is in your own best interest as a tobacco retailer to monitor your employees' actions. The laws are very specific and you have much to lose if they are broken. By monitoring them, you can identify staff members who are not following store policies or the laws under Federal and Provincial tobacco legislation. You will choose the methods that are best suited to you and the consequences in keeping with your own policy on the matter but the following outline a number of methods that other owner/operators have found effective.
Owners or operators are responsible for the actions of their employees. They may be charged if an employee sells or provides a tobacco product to someone who is under 19 years of age.
It is important to record your policies and procedures, your signed staff agreements, tests, as well as signed government announcements and other notices.
"Due diligence" means doing everything reasonably possible to try to prevent such an offence from occurring.
The final decision about an owner or operator's due diligence will be made in a court of law.
Using due diligence means doing everything reasonably possible to try to prevent a tobacco control legislation offence from occurring.
The final decision about due diligence will be made in a court of law.
How do you check your employees to be sure they do not sell tobacco products to anyone under 19 years of age? Keep track of your monitoring efforts using the simple form below or design a form that better suits your purposes.
By recording any corrective action taken helps to prove you are diligent.
This is a sample of how yours might look.
Action Taken | Results | Date | Initials |
---|---|---|---|
Reviewed store videos | All employees asked for ID | 02/03/11 | JR |
Reviewed tobacco legislation with all employees | Clarified questions. All staff aware of the rules | 04/06/11 | JR |
Supervised JD during sale to minor | ID requested. No sale. | 06/09/11 | JR |
Sent in test shopper to check retailer's compliance as a whole | ID not requested. | 10/10/11 | KD |
Reviewed the legislation and types of ID required with the employee | Clerk agrees to follow the rules | 12/10/11 | KD |
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Training
Policies and Procedures
Monitoring Employees
Signature:
Date:
There are many additional steps that can be taken within your place of business to make sure no one sells a tobacco product to someone who is under 19 years of age.
Here are a few suggestions:
This booklet is for clerks and others who sell tobacco in a retail store. Please read carefully as your employer may quiz you as part of your retail training.
No one shall give, sell or provide in any way (furnish) a tobacco product to anyone under 19 years of age in any public place or a place where the public has reasonable entry (access).
To sell, lend, assign, give, send with or without consideration, or to barter or deposit with another person for performance of a service. This can (but does not have to) include an exchange of money.
Only those types of photo ID listed in the federal Tobacco (Access) Regulations are acceptable in BC.
Student cards are not acceptable as proof of age for tobacco purchases
You have the right to say no to anyone who asks you to break the law by selling tobacco products to people who are under 19.
Cigarettes may only be sold in packages that have at least 20 cigarettes in them. It is against the law to sell single cigarettes to anyone.
It is illegal to sell cigarettes, little cigars and/or blunt wraps with additives that have flavouring properties or are used to enhance flavouring (excluding menthol).
A Tobacco Enforcement Officer may enter your store without a warrant and inspect your premises. You must fully cooperate with the Tobacco Enforcement Officer. Hindering, obstructing or knowingly making a false or misleading statement may lead to charges.
Tobacco Products are composed in whole or in part of tobacco. Some tobacco products are:
It is only legal to furnish a tobacco product to a person 19 years of age or older in BC.
In stores where Provincial signs are not required, customers who are 18 years or older can buy cigarette papers, tubes and/or filters.
Remember: If you furnish a tobacco product to someone under 19 ... you could be fined and lose your job.
Remember: Health Canada and BC Ministry of Health send test shoppers out to retail locations to test compliance. You might be tested.
Thinking someone looks older than they are is not a legitimate excuse to sell them tobacco or tobacco products. Always check for a valid identification. Federal and Provincial tobacco legislation in BC states that only the following pieces of identification or documentation are acceptable to prove a person's age:
Student cards are not acceptable as proof of age for tobacco purchases.
Ask everyone who looks under 25 for ID before you sell tobacco.
Do not sell tobacco if the customer:
By asking everyone who looks under 25 for ID, you may avoid:
When it comes to estimating someone's age, don't guess. Ask for ID from anyone who appears 25 years of age or younger.
Avoid reaching for or handling tobacco until after these steps have been followed.
Look at the ID card. Is it one of the ID cards required by law? If not - refuse to sell.
Look at the date of birth and determine the person's age. Are they under 19? If they are - refuse to sell.
Look at the person, then look at the photo on the ID card. If they look different - then refuse to sell.
Is the ID card signed? If not - refuse to sell.
Has the ID card been changed? Run your fingers over it. Has the surface been scratched or altered near the dates? Does it seem fake? If it does - then refuse to sell.
Keep an eye out for altered identification. Younger customers may try to change their IDs to appear older.
Calculating the age of a customer from their date of birth can be confusing. Use stickers to make it easier to figure out if a customer is 19 or over. Don't forget to change the stickers each year.
Here are some ways to spot altered IDs:
Sample of provincial age stickers
NO. Notes are not allowed. The law says you cannot provide (furnish) tobacco to anyone under 19 years old.
Both the clerk who sold the tobacco and the store owner may be charged and fined if found guilty. Make sure you know how to ask for ID and obey this law.
NO. Only federal, provincial or foreign government ID with name, date of birth, photo and signature are acceptable as proof of age when selling tobacco products.
YES. Lighters and matches are not considered to be tobacco products; therefore, their sale is not age restricted under the Tobacco Act. However, matches that depict a tobacco product logo must be sold and not be given away for free.
Let's work together to keep tobacco out of the hands of young people.
You have the right to say no to anyone, including friends, who is asking you to break the law. It is illegal for you to provide tobacco products to anyone who is under 19 years of age.
Saying no to friends and others in your age group is not easy. The following tips can help you say no firmly:
Retail clerks are often challenged verbally by youth when they refuse to furnish tobacco products to a minor. Here are some responses a clerk can say when confronted by a "pushy" minor.
"We have a policy in our store to photo ID anyone who looks under 25. I have no choice - it's a part of my duties"
"Look, I know you're not 19 and that we're friends. But I'm the one who will lose my job if I sell you cigarettes. And besides, it's illegal!"
"Look, I've told you that I can't sell you cigarettes because it's illegal and I could lose my job. If you insist, I'm going to have to get my manager."
If you feel seriously threatened by a customer, be sure to follow store emergency procedures
In BC, there are Federal and Provincial staff working to enforce tobacco regulations.
For questions concerning:
Please contact the Health Canada Tobacco Control Program:
If you need:
Please contact your Tobacco Enforcement Officer at your local Provincial Health Authority or visit their website:
Want to Quit Smoking?
www.quitnow.ca
or call 1-877-455-2233
(translation in over 130 languages)