Giant Eagle, Dollar General scramble to alert customers under 21 they can't buy cigarettes, chew, vapes

Western Pennsylvania shoppers soon will spot signs popping up inside Giant Eagle grocery stores and GetGo gas stations alerting everyone to a new federal rule: People under 21 are barred from buying any tobacco products or vapes with liquid nicotine.

“As a responsible retailer, Giant Eagle, Inc. takes seriously its obligation to abide by all federal, state and local laws and regulations,” Giant Eagle spokesman Dan Donovan said Friday afternoon in a statement.

Dollar General affirmed its stores also have begun enforcing the rule. Spokeswoman Mary Kathryn Colbert said the retailer “is committed to the safe, responsible and lawful sale of tobacco products sold in our stores.”

The minimum age requirement applies to every retailer nationwide. It takes effect immediately — months before a similar Pennsylvania law is set to take effect this summer.

The ban spans cigarettes, cigars, chewing tobacco, e-cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Speedy passage of bans in Congress, states

Usually, new legislation doesn’t take effect right away. This change simply increased the age limit in existing law, a Food and Drug Administration spokesman said Friday.

By the time Congress raised the legal limit last week, a change folded into a massive spending bill, about one-third of the states already had their own laws restricting tobacco sales to people 21 and younger.

Giant Eagle’s Ohio and Maryland stores stopped selling cigarettes to 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds in October to comply with new state legislation.

In November, Pennsylvania’s Legislature speedily passed and Gov. Tom Wolf signed into law a similar rule set to go into effect in mid-2020.

President Donald Trump signed the change into federal law Dec. 20.

The FDA issued a Dec. 21 notice to retailers warning the rule takes effect immediately.

Giant Eagle officials sprung to action to ensure employees in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Indiana “were equipped to enforce the amended law as quickly as possible,” Donovan said.

FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn described the change as “a major step in protecting the next generation of children from becoming addicted to tobacco products.”

The FDA has regulated tobacco products since 2009. It enforces the law partly through spot checks. Stores can be fined or barred from selling tobacco for repeat violations.

Anti-smoking advocates said the higher age limit should make it more difficult for young people to get tobacco, particularly high school students who had friends or classmates over 18 buy for them.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.