NEWPORT
- Kathy Kleier, a manager at the Service Plus IGA store, has noticed fewer minors trying to buy tobacco products since she received training last fall on how better to spot phony IDs.
''I think it helped us a lot in not selling to minors,'' said Ms. Kleier, among two dozen store managers and employees who attended the Kentucky Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing workshop in Covington.
''Yes, we've caught a few (minors). I think anything you can do to crack down on it is a good idea.''
That's why she supports giving local municipalities power to enact stricter laws regarding minors' access to tobacco products. A 2-year-old state law bans tobacco sales to people under age 18. House Bill 381, which would have given local communities that power, was recently amended to allow for a two-year study to determine whether existing educational and enforcement efforts are sufficient. The task force will make a recommendation by September 1999.
The amended bill, which passed the Kentucky House a week ago, is now before the Senate Agriculture and Natural Resources Committee. Rep. Mary Lou Marzian, D-Louisville, the bill's sponsor, said Sunday she hopes the task force reinstates the bill's original language.
It would give local communities power in the sale and distribution of single cigarettes, self-service displays, removal of cigarette vending machines, or licensing of tobacco retailers.
''Tobacco farmers are a whipping boy now . . . because we're left out of the whole mix,'' said Bob Flaig, who has been growing tobacco for 45 years. ''And those who are making laws are going with the flow.'' Mr. Flaig and his son, Steve, grow 30 acres of tobacco on the family-owned farm outside Union.
The farmer added that parents should do more to stop their children from smoking, rather than giving more power to local communities. But local city and health officials, who support the local options, are outraged that the legislation has been sidetracked by legislators from rural districts and the tobacco industry.
''I'm upset. I don't think it is something we can afford to delay,'' said Robert Smith, public health director of the Northern Kentucky District Health Department.
The health department, and the cities of Bellevue, Covington, Edgewood and Walton, support giving local communities more power to regulate tobacco sales to minors.
''My immediate reaction is why would you need two years to do a study?'' said Covington City Manager Greg Jarvis. ''I think most people would agree that tobacco use by minors is not a desirable phenomenon.''
''It's very unfortunate that a study is a way to take the issue off the table,'' said Julie Brackett, spokeswoman for the Kentucky American Heart Association.
''We've got 47 percent of our kids smoking (in Kentucky),'' she said.
''For our state not to be able to take that small step is pretty sad.''
Larry Hatfield, director of Regulation and Inspection for the Kentucky Department of Agriculture, said programs and enforcement tactics have made a dent in the number of teens who buy tobacco products. The programs include a tobacco hot line; brochures distributed at the Kentucky State Fair; and anti-tobacco presentations to students by Miss Kentucky.
A study by the Kentucky Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control (ABC) showed that as of Dec. 31, 24 percent of minors statewide were sold tobacco products. That number is down from about two years ago, when a similar ABC study revealed that seven of 10 minors - or 70 percent - bought tobacco products.
Also, of the 17,408 retail stores that have been checked by field inspectors, 13,250 - or 76 percent - were in compliance with the state law that bans tobacco sales to people under age 18.
''This program is working. We have seen a drastic change,'' said Mr. Hatfield, adding that although many businesses have removed vending machines, from stores, it remains tough to police 24 hours a day.
''Give it a little while longer. I don't know that local option could bring them off any faster than what we're doing,'' Mr. Hatfield said.
