BRONXVILLE, NY, JANUARY 17, 2019 – Over 370 cities in 22 states have increased the minimum smoking age from 18 to 21. Furthermore, 6 states increased it statewide. Some states are even implementing a “grandfather clause”. This allows people that turned 18 before the law went into effect to continue buying tobacco products. Therefore, people turning 18 after the law are not allowed to buy tobacco products until 21. This new clause makes age-verification for clerks and merchants in these states more complicated. Specifically, Massachusetts and Maine have already implemented a grandfather clause after raising the smoking age to 21. This includes all tobacco, e-cigarette, and vape products. More states may join in on this clause in the following years, as many have already increased the smoking age. “We want to streamline ID scanning for our customers,” says Charles Cagliostro, President of TokenWorks Inc. “By implementing this grandfather clause feature into our ID Scanner devices, scanning IDs will remain efficient and reliable.”
Verifying whether or not an 18 year-old is eligible to buy tobacco products is more difficult when there’s a grandfather clause. The smoking age is now a variable in this case, rather than a simple “OK” or “not OK” equation. A convenience store clerk or vape store clerk must manually verify this particular information. In other words, they must check the birthday and see if it falls before or after the date the law went into effect. The person operating the device would have to figure this out themselves, such as knowing the law’s enactment date. Besides a person that’s 21+, a person that’s 18, 19, or 20 could potentially be eligible to purchase tobacco. Utilizing their innovative age-verifying software, TokenWorks has already implemented a grandfather clause feature into all of their existing ID scanners. This feature will be available to all device owners via a free update. Age-restricted businesses will now find it easier to quickly figure out if a person is eligible under this clause. The icon on the right would pop up on the device’s screen if the scanned ID falls under the grandfather clause. About TokenWorks® Founded in 1998, TokenWorks is a leading and one of the largest providers of portable and desktop ID Scanner products with age verification, lead capture and access control applications. Products offered by TokenWorks can be viewed at https://idscanner.com. For more information, call 1-800-574-5034 or visit: http://www.tokenworks.com; you can also e-mail: sales(at)tokenworks(dot)com
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