California’s attorney general last week sued Safeway for selling tobacco to minors.
The suit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, asks for civil penalties that could total less than $1 million and would require Safeway to add precautions in its 589 Safeway, Vons, Pavilions and Pak N’ Save stores statewide.
Undercover inspections by state health officials found that Safeway sold tobacco to minors nearly 30% of the time through March 2004, and 42% of the time in 2003. The suit alleges that Safeway stores fail to check IDs and display P-O-P signs warning against underage sales, and Los Angeles stores don’t prominently display tobacco retail permits.
“Safeway takes the allegations … very seriously and intends to address them in detail. … The employees who staff our stores are committed to the communities they serve and work very hard to comply with all state and local laws prohibiting underage tobacco sales. … We believe our record of compliance regarding tobacco sales does not justify being singled out in this instance,” according to a Safeway statement. Safeway plans to work with the AG “to resolve any legitimate concerns his office may have,” per the statement.
AG Bill Lockyer created a full-time Tobacco Litigation and Enforcement Section in 1999 to enforce California law and the national Master Settlement Agreement. California is also one of 30 states that in 2000 brokered a deal with national retailers to curb tobacco sales to minors. Retailers agreed to strengthen ID checks, prohibit self-service displays and sale of paraphernalia, train employees and conduct compliance checks.
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