WMT Walmart Inc

By Sarah Nassauer and Jennifer Maloney 

Walmart Inc. said it is raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 in all its stores and will stop selling fruit-flavored e-cigarettes, amid pressure from regulators and others working to curb use by children and teens.

In April, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration called out the country's largest retailer for being a top violator of illegally selling tobacco products to minors. The FDA sent similar letters to Family Dollar, which is owned by Dollar Tree Corp., Kroger Co. and others.

The new sales restrictions will start July 1 across all Walmart's locations, including its warehouse chain Sam's Club, Walmart said Wednesday.

E-cigarette startups like Juul Labs Inc. selling nicotine liquids with fruit and dessert flavors such as mango and creme have contributed to a spike in underage use, according to the FDA. Juul says its products are intended for adults and supports raising the minimum purchase age to 21 nationwide.

The action follows similar moves by other retailers in the wake of FDA criticism and bills introduced in the House and Senate that would raise the minimum age to purchase tobacco nationwide to 21 from 18.

"While we have implemented a robust compliance program, we are not satisfied with falling short of our companywide goal" of zero tobacco sales to minors, said John Scudder, chief compliance and ethics officer for Walmart U.S.

In a response letter to the FDA, Walmart said it has increased disciplinary action against store workers who fail to check IDs for shoppers who appear to be under 40, in line with company policies. It is also using virtual-reality headsets to train more workers to avoid underage tobacco sales, said the letter.

Youth use of e-cigarettes jumped 78% from 2017 to 2018 -- to one out of every five high-school students, according to a federal survey. The most common way children and teens obtain e-cigarettes is from someone they know, the FDA says.

Proponents of raising the minimum purchase age to 21 say it ensures that high-school students don't have classmates who can purchase e-cigarettes for them. The FDA in March issued new sales restrictions, not yet implemented, that would effectively ban bricks-and-mortar stores from selling e-cigarettes in the sweet and fruity flavors the agency says are appealing to children.

Walmart is discontinuing the sale of dessert- and fruit-flavored e-cigarettes in response to FDA research, the retailer said in its letter to the agency.

Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. and Rite Aid Corp. in April said they would raise the minimum age required for customers to buy tobacco products in their stores to 21, up from 18 in most states.

Write to Sarah Nassauer at sarah.nassauer@wsj.com and Jennifer Maloney at jennifer.maloney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2019 12:20 ET (16:20 GMT)

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