TEENAGERS HAVE LITTLE TROUBLE BUYING TOBACCO, REPORT SAYS

Also, officials from counties voice fears that they will get no funds from
settlements with cigarette makers.

Washington - Despite crackdowns on teen smoking, kids across the country
have little trouble buying cigarettes, the government said Friday in the
first state-by-state scorecard of sting operations.

In the typical state, four of 10 teen-agers successfully left convenience
stores, gas stations and groceries with what officials call the No.1 threat
to their health. Half the states did better than that and half did worse.

Also Friday, county officials afraid that they will be short-changed by any
tobacco settlement demanded that they get their fair share. Several
proposals in Congress would divide any money among the states and the
federal government.

"Do I trust my state? No, quite frankly," said Dennis Gorske, executive of
Erie County, N.Y.

Despite calls for a deal, Republican congressional leaders have not made a
comprehensive national tobacco settlement a legislative priority this year.

The state-by-state report is a progress check on state efforts to meet a
federal law that requires states to reduce their sales of tobacco to minors
over the next few years to 20 percent of those who try to buy it. The
deadline varies by state, depending how far they have to go, but all states
must reach that goal by 2003 or lose federal grants for substance abuse and
mental health programs.

So far, four states - Florida, Maine, New Hampshire and Washington - have
met the 20 percent target.

Florida was doing the best in the nation, with teen-agers acting as covert
inspectors able to buy tobacco just 7.2 percent of the time. In Louisiana,
teens got the goods on more than seven of 10 tries. In California, 29.3
percent of teen attempts to buy cigarettes were successful.

"I know how tough this is. My dad owned a grocery store and I worked behind
the counter," said Donna Shalala, secretary of Health and Human Services,
who wasn't allowed to sell cigarettes in her father's Cleveland store.

Louisiana officials said they have already improved the numbers recorded
during the 1997 fiscal year the ended Sept. 30. A follow-up study showed
teens succeeded in buying just 39 percent of the time.

"The department instituted a very aggressive program, including a public
awareness campaign and aggressive enforcement," said Rusty Jabour,
spokesman for Louisiana's Department of Health and Hospitals. It involved
more compliance checks, a letter from the governor to 18,000 merchants and
ads on radio, television and in newspapers, he said.

Florida's success is due to strong efforts by state officials who have
"been at it longer. They take it very seriously," said Mich Zeller, a
tobacco expert with the federal Food and Drug Administration.

The sting operation involves teen-agers who attempt to buy cigarettes and
chewing tobacco. If a clerk asks for identification, they say they don't
have any with them. Since 1996, more than 60,000 merchants have been
checked.

Jessica Goh, a 16-year-old Florida spot checker, said she is always glad
when a merchant won't sell her cigarette, but added, "If I catch one
person, that's one less person to worry about."

Meanwhile, the FDA is working to enforce its year-old rules barring sales
to minors. It has signed contracts with 11 states to inspect stores. They
are California, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts,
Minnesota, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Texas and Washington.

The FDA has asked Congress for $100 million to help states enforce the
agency's rules, but Congress appears wary.

A $368 billion settlement struck in June between state attorneys general
and the tobacco industry would settle 40 lawsuits filed by states to
recover money they have spent treating sick smokers. But the deal is silent
on payments to cities and counties, many of which also have asked courts to
help them recover hundreds of millions of local dollars spent treating
smoking-related illnesses.

The local officials also asked Congress to make sure that whatever tobacco
policy is passed does not override current county and city smoking
ordinances.