Shell Signs Deal With 47 State AGs to Curb Minor Tobacco Sales..

October 10, 2008 - Attorneys general of 46 states and the District of Columbia entered into an agreement with Shell Oil that is designed to curb tobacco sales to minors. Shell and its joint venture, Motiva Enterprises, have agreed to adopt procedures designed to reduce sales of cigarettes to minors. (The four states that didn't participate in the settlement were Indiana, North Carolina, North Dakota and Wisconsin.)

Nationwide, the agreement affects more than 13,000 of Shell's 14,000 outlets. Under the agreement, Shell also will pay $100,000 for the costs incurred by the states in investigation and negotiation.


The agreement includes the following provisions:
* Retail personnel will receive training about the health risks associated with childhood tobacco use.
* Shell will administer independent compliance checks to monitor sales practices at certain Shell convenience stores, to ensure they are not selling tobacco to minors.
* States will impose sanctions against contract operators that sell tobacco to minors.
* Vending machines and self-service displays that sell tobacco products will be forbidden at Shell-associated c-stores.
* In-store tobacco advertisements will be limited to reduce youth demand for tobacco products.
* Shell will require all c-store operators to notify the company if tobacco products are sold to minors in violation of the law.

Other recent multi-state agreements cover gas station convenience stores selling fuel under the Conoco, Phillips 66 or 76, Exxon, Mobil, BP, Amoco, ARCO and Chevron brand names, and retail and pharmacy chains Kroger, 7-Eleven, Walgreens, Rite Aid, CVS and Wal-Mart.

Reference: Shell Signs Deal With 47 State AGs to Curb Minor Tobacco Sales, Convenience Store/Petroleum News, 10/9/2008 and Shell, 46 States and DC, to Curb Youth Tobacco Sales (Update2) by Andrew Harris, Bloomberg.com, 10/8/2008.