The National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) announced that ‘We Card’ resources are available at no cost to assist retailers in complying with the new federal law that went into effect on Dec. 20, which raised the legal age to purchase tobacco products to 21.

Specifically, the four kinds of free resources for retailers are as follows:

• Three different age 21 signs to download, print and display in stores
• The We Card Age Checker Application
• The www.wecardnow.com Age Calculator for use on mobile phones
• A 10-minute “Training Booster” video course that covers the new age 21 purchase law

To obtain access to these free We Card retail resources, click here.

In addition, retailers can continue to order other products from We Card to assist in properly verifying the legal age of customers.

NATO has been in contact with the FDA and asked the agency whether it plans to exercise its enforcement discretion to temporarily delay retail compliance checks to allow retailers the time needed to adequately train employees on the new law, educate customers about the new higher legal age and reprogram point-of-sale (POS) systems to reflect the new age 21 law.

While NATO is waiting for a response from the FDA, complying with the new law and enforcing the new law are two different things. That is, retailers are advised to comply with the new law now while the FDA determines how and when the agency will begin retail compliance inspections.