A new draft regulation that envisions moving age verification for cigarette sales to an electronic system has come to the agenda. Within the scope of the health regulation that the Ministry of Health and the AKP Group Presidency are reportedly working on, a QR code-based verification model is being evaluated to prevent the sale of tobacco products to those under 18.
In the draft, similar to practices in Japan and South Korea, it is aimed to check the buyer's age at points of sale via electronic devices. Accordingly, age verification for a person wishing to purchase a tobacco product will be done by scanning a code created by the relevant public authority with a phone.
The system is planned to determine whether the person has turned 18 by matching it with their Turkish ID number. It is envisioned that sellers will only be able to see age eligibility without accessing the customer's name, exact age, or other personal information.
POINTS OF SALE AND ONLINE SALES ALSO INCLUDED
The implementation of the regulation in physical points of sale such as markets, grocery stores, and kiosks, as well as its use in tobacco product sales made over the internet, is being evaluated. Thus, it is aimed to make inspections regarding the age limit more regular and traceable.
The draft also includes the results of the 2017 Global Youth Tobacco Survey. According to the survey, 73.3 percent of students in the 13-15 age group who use cigarettes reported that they were able to buy cigarettes from points of sale such as markets and grocery stores despite not having turned 18.
With the new system, it is on the agenda to monitor not only age verification but also the amount of tobacco products that buyers can purchase daily in an electronic environment. It is planned to develop the electronic infrastructure and put it into practice within a year.
The procedures and principles of the application are expected to be determined by the Ministry of Health after obtaining the opinion of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry. If the regulation is enacted, an era of electronic verification could begin in tobacco product sales instead of ID checks.
News Source: 12punto
