Newsagent group calls for ID cards

AN IDENTITY card system needs to be introduced immediately to ensure tobacco is not sold to minors, says the umbrella body for convenience stores and newsagents throughout the country.

Speaking in the wake of a recent landmark court case, which found that a shop assistant and not her employer was negligent by selling cigarettes to a minor, Vincent Jennings, chief executive of the Convenience Stores and Newsagents Association, said there was an obvious need for stricter controls.

In the past 15 years, 20 members of the 1,600-strong association have been prosecuted by the courts for selling tobacco to minors.