We Card’s 30th Year Message: 

Focus on the Fundamentals of Preventing Underage Access.

2025 is We Card’s 30th year of serving retailers.

 

We’ve seen a lot of changes in the past 30 years but the fundamentals of “responsible retailing” of age-restricted products remains constant.

 

Since We Card’s launch in 1995, a coalition of national trade associations representing retailers and distributors along with leading manufacturers came together to launch the We Card program to provide actionable tools and education to help retailers comply with youth access laws and raise awareness of the problem of underage access to tobacco and other age restricted products.

 

Back then, non-compliance or violation rates were as high as 40%. Today these rates hover around 10%.

 

Our coalition is stronger than ever and has a wide base of support among state level retail and wholesale associations serving retailers 

 

As we begin 2025, we ask that you take time to review, renew and refresh your responsible retailing “We Card” efforts. We’re here with a plethora of tested and effective in-store tools and training materials to help you stay compliant and up to date. 

 

Let’s run through them here:

 

Age Calculation Tools

In addition to the latest technology such as ID scanning, our tools make it easy to know how old a customer must be to access age-restricted products.

• Age of Purchase Calendar: The calendar displays the most recent date a customer's valid ID can show to legally purchase tobacco and vaping products. Just compare the date on the ID to the date on the calendar.
• Age of Purchase Sticker: Show your customers where you stand with this in-store sticker displaying the most recent year a customer's valid ID can show to legally purchase age-restricted products. These stickers come in Tobacco/Vapor, Tobacco/Alcohol or E-vapor varieties.
• ID Scanning Tipsheet: These easy, step-by-step instructions are a great tool to keep near your register to both help you use the ID Scanner properly, as well as give advice on what to say when handling confrontational situations with customers.  

 

State Law Summaries

Our interactive map tool will help you find a comprehensive summary of state laws. You can also find these summaries within our We Card Employee Guides as well as included in We Card’s eLearning Center training courses.

 

“What To Say” Training

 

Get a crash course in what to say to customers when “carding” and denying underage sales (or sales to 21+ adults with expired IDs).

• Training Courses: Three training courses are available ( Employee, Refresher, and Manager) within our eLearningCenter. FDA requirements and state-specific law summaries included! Consider the 10-12 minute free Booster course to raise awareness of the FDA requirement to “card” customers under 30 years old.
• Employee Guides: The guides not only provide crucial summaries of state laws, but also include fundamental training information and tips on handling difficult situations using the AERO technique.
• Training Posters: These quick reference posters reinforce important tobacco sales training in a fun, informative way. They’re perfect for your store’s break room, bulletin board or anywhere you have reference materials for your employees.

 

Social Sourcing In-Store Campaign

 

What’s developed as a growing problem today is something we call Social Sourcing. Social Sourcing is when underage people ask 21+ adults to buy or give them tobacco or vaping products. 

If a store sells these age-restricted products to someone knowing or suspecting they will be given to those underage, the store may still be held legally liable. We Card’s new campaign offers free kits (while supplies last) to support retailers in denying these purchase attempts. There is also a 3rd Party Sales Tip Sheet you can order to keep next to the register for easy reference.

Remember, many of these materials come included in our 2025 Renewal Kits. Make one, easy purchase to help keep your store compliant for another full year!

Finally, don’t miss out on these important resources to help your responsible retailing efforts:

State Sign Requirements – Many states have specific signage requirements, such as a required sign, to post at the point-of-sale. Check your sign requirements here.

 

Written Company Policy on Selling Age-Restricted Products – We strongly suggest you have a written policy and communicate it to your employees and have them read and sign the policy as a step in your internal efforts (FDA recommends a written policy as part of their Guidance on Tobacco Retailer Training Programs.) Download our free template for crafting your policy here.

 

Follow Best Practices – Download We Card’s Guide to Best Practices. Take our brief survey, and you’ll gain access to our Guide of 16 best practices and information on how to implement them using We Card resources (or your own resources.).

 

We’re looking forward to serving you and all retailers throughout 2025.  Stay abreast of important responsible retailing information by signing up for our eNews here or send us a note if you have any questions at comments@wecard.org.