TEEN TOBACCO BAN NEAR

Locke Gets Bill After Easy Passage In Legislature

OLYMPIA -- Underage smokers will have until June to beat their
nicotine habit, if Gov. Gary Locke signs a bill the House sent him
Monday making minor possession of tobacco illegal.

Children younger than 18 caught with cigarettes could be punished with
a $50 fine, four hours of community service and a requirement to
participate in a smoking cessation program under the provisions of
House Bill 1746, sponsored by Rep. Mike Sherstad, R-Bothell.

While it is already illegal for minors to purchase tobacco, nothing
stops them from possessing it, a fact that Sherstad says most kids are
very aware of.

"That just sends an inconsistent message to kids," said Amy
Brackenbury of the Washington Association of Neighborhood Stores,
"that if you can trick someone into selling it to you, or have someone
older buy it for you or get it from your mom's purse, then that's OK."

Since Sherstad introduced the bill last year -- it died in the Senate
- -- he and the store association, which strongly supports the measure,
have been embroiled in a sticky controversy over their ties to the
tobacco industry. Three tobacco companies contributed to Sherstad's
campaign in 1996, leading some to charge that the tobacco companies
were behind the legislation.

Sherstad and Brackenbury emphatically deny any such involvement and
say the legislation was purely in response to complaints by store
owners who want minors to share responsibility when they illegally
obtain tobacco products.

Attorney General Christine Gregoire and the American Cancer Society
accused the tobacco industry of using convenience stores as a front to
weaken Washington's aggressive anti-smoking programs.

Newspapers across the state have been filled with letters against the
bill, and against Sherstad for sponsoring it. As recently as Friday
morning, Paul Berendt, Chairman of the Washington State Democratic
Party, issued a press release charging Sherstad and his bill with
"aiding the tobacco industry."

However, Gregoire and most others who opposed the bill are now in
support, and it enjoyed easy passage in both the Senate and House.

Most of the concerns raised have been based on provisions in last
year's bill that no longer apply. According to Sherstad and
Brackenbury, the complaints were due to misperceptions.

The bill was changed this year so that it no longer affects teen sting
operations or funding for anti-smoking programs. Sherstad had
originally wanted to reassign the sting operations to a law
enforcement agency rather than the Health Department, which has
conducted them since 1995. Some worried that the operations would be
cut altogether, and enough opposition was raised to amend the bill
accordingly.

Gregoire's charge that Sherstad wanted to grant immunity to retailers
who illegally sell tobacco to minors has been worked out as well. The
language of the original bill said the Liquor Control Board may reduce
or waive penalties, which Sherstad said was mistaken as a
requirement.

The current bill sports new language and provisions, stating that the
board would be allowed to impose greater penalties if aggravating
circumstances are involved and reduce or waive penalties if a store
can prove it exercised due diligence in trying to prohibit the illegal
sales.

The governor has said he will meet with the attorney general to review
the bill before deciding whether to sign it.

Enforceability, however, may be questionable. The latest available
statistics for Snohomish County show that about a quarter of high
school seniors used tobacco products in 1993.

"We're probably not going to go out and contact every kid and pat them
down to see if they have cigarettes on them," said Elliott Woodall,
Everett Police Department spokesman.