Rationale for Current Tobacco Vending Machine Restrictions
(April 1998)
Vending machines have long been one of the preferred tobacco access
channels for kids, since they can obtain cigarettes without having
to hand the money to a clerk. Iowa Code §453A.36(6), as amended
July 1, 1997, permits tobacco vending machines only if “the vending
machine is located in a place where the retailer ensures that no person
younger than eighteen years of age is present or permitted to enter
at any time.”
Prior law permitted tobacco vending machines as long as they had lock-out
devices. Some argue that the new law should not be actively enforced,
and that the old law permitting lock-out devices provided all the
protection necessary. But the new law strengthens the barrier between
kids and cigarettes in several ways:
- Public accommodations where cigarette machines are located are
not primarily in the tobacco business, but rather have the machines
as a convenience to customers. Their employees are less likely
to be well trained concerning the age and I.D. laws that have
to be applied in connection with lock-out devices.
- One of the major incentives not to sell to minors is the threat
of having one’s tobacco permit suspended or even revoked.
But businesses that have cigarette machines on site merely for
the convenience of their customers have less incentive to ensure
compliance with youth access laws.
- Lock-out devices may invite short-cuts. For example, a busy
bartender who sees a person (not obviously underage) standing
at the cigarette machine across the room, signaling to use it,
might well be tempted to just press the remote access button rather
than having to stop, call out across the room that an I.D. has
to be produced, and check identification while customers are kept
waiting.
- The new law on vending machines is easier to enforce than the
prior law allowing lock-out devices. Under current law, one can
tell at a glance whether a cigarette machine is unlawfully placed.
Before it was necessary to delve into whether there was an unseen
lock-out device, and, if so, whether it met the several standards
specified by the statute.
- In the past, cigarette vending machines were a familiar sight
to young people in theater lounges, restaurants, motel lobbies
and many other locations. This may have sent the wrong message
to kids who enjoy using vending machines for treats like pop and
candy. Tobacco is emphatically different.
How to Apply Current Law on Tobacco Vending Machines
(April 1998)
While the rationale on the other side, may help to explain why the
legislature did what it did, it doesn’t resolve questions about
how the law applies in different contexts. Here are some examples
of how the current vending machine restrictions apply:
- Vending machines would clearly be permitted in nightclubs or
other such venues where anyone under eighteen (or more likely
under twenty-one) is stopped at the door and denied entry. This
assumes that food service workers, custodial staff, and other
employees with occasional or off-hours access to the machine are
eighteen or older.
- Vending machines would be permitted in a bar or tavern, if (and
only if) no one under eighteen was ever permitted inside the establishment.
For example, a bar that served food and had some family patronage
could not have a vending machine in any unrestricted area.
- A bar or tavern that had some underage patronage (for food,
or to play pool, etc.) could have a vending machine only if it
were located in a portion of the establishment that no one under
eighteen was ever permitted to enter, such as a restricted-access
backroom, or behind the bar where patrons are not allowed. (Note
that this assumes that all employees with access to the machine
would be at least eighteen).
- Factories, warehouses, offices or other workplaces could have
a vending machine, for example in a break room or cafeteria, but
only if there were no workers under eighteen who had access to
that portion of the facility, and if an “employees only”
policy were strictly maintained (that is, the area was always
off limits to younger friends or family members who might be waiting
for an employee).
This information does not constitute an attorney general’s
opinion, but rather is intended to provide informal guidance to
law enforcement authorities, businesses with tobacco vending machines,
and other Iowans regarding the law as of the Spring of 1998. Please
direct other questions regarding this information to: Steve St.
Clair, Assistant Attorney General, phone (515) 281.3731.
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