RETAILERS FIGHT NEW TOBACCO RULES

BOSTON -- Sales of tobacco products are crucial to the convenience stores
that can be found in every corner of the state, business groups said
yesterday as they argued against new rules on tobacco sales.

Attorney General Scott Harshbarger wants to set regulations under the
state's consumer protection laws to keep youths from getting cigarettes and
to require warnings on cigars.

Harshbarger said there was mounting evidence that tobacco products had been
"seductively marketed" to youths for decades.

"I believe Massachusetts can act on its own to help prevent our children
from becoming Big Tobacco's newest customers," he said, noting that nothing
has emerged yet from Congress to crack down on the industry.

Harshbarger's proposals require a public comment process, but they do not
need approval by the state Legislature. Harshbarger's office said the
regulations could be in effect by this summer or fall.

But Cathy Flaherty, executive director of the New England Convenience Store
Association, which includes 1,000 stores in Massachusetts, said that 25 to
30 percent of convenience store sales are from tobacco products.

Tobacco companies can also pay store owners thousands of dollars for
merchandising displays.

Jack Pierce, executive director of the New England Service Station and
Automotive Repair Association Inc., joined in the criticism.

The regulations would bring about a "serious loss of revenue for the small
Massachusetts retailer, one that would be hard to recoup," he said.

Harshbarger is already tangling with the tobacco industry on other fronts,
including the state's multi-billion-dollar lawsuit seeking to recover from
the industry the costs of providing Medicaid help to poor people with
smoking-related illnesses.

Harshbarger is proposing to use the state consumer protection law to:

- -- Ban billboards and outward-facing ads in retail stores near schools;

Limit the number of in-store tobacco ads in retail stores near schools;

Require retailers near schools or those selling a large volume of tobacco
products to conduct sting programs to make sure they are not selling to minors;

Require retailers near schools to post signs at cash registers that say,
"KIDS: SMOKING CAN KILL YOU!";

And require a series of new warning labels for cigars and cigar ads, warning
that they are not a safe alternative to cigarettes.

A fine of up to $5,000 could be assessed for each violation. The public
comment period runs through June 19.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett