The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced that a new digital age verification calendar is available as part of the agency’s “This is Our Watch” voluntary retailer education program, which is designed to prevent and reduce sales of e-cigarettes and other tobacco products to minors.
As part of this voluntary program, the digital calendar, which makes it easier to verify a consumer’s age, is being mailed to retailers across the U.S this month and will also be available to order for free to retailers from the Center for Tobacco Products Exchange Lab. Retailers can digitally set the minimum age on the calendar, as appropriate for their location.
While the federal minimum age to purchase tobacco products is 18, in many localities and states, the age is higher. The FDA developed the digital, programmable calendars in response to feedback from retailers and state tobacco control officials for additional resources to educate their staff on how to comply with federal laws and regulations.
The digital calendars will replace the popular paper calendars the FDA initially distributed starting in November 2017 through the “This is Our Watch” program. In addition to the digital calendar, a full toolkit of resources is available to order or download for free including posters, stickers, flyers and more.