State officials and retailers across North Carolina hope to curtail the sale of tobacco to minors with a new campaign emphasizing the inspection of driver’s licenses.
Known as the Red Flag campaign, the initiative is designed to help retailers enforce laws regarding the sale of tobacco by helping them understand the color-coded system for licenses.
“The Red Flag campaign is a public awareness effort to educate store clerks that a red border on a driver’s license means that the person is too young to purchase cigarettes,” said Mark Ezzell, community outreach coordinator for the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund. Health and Wellness is one of the groups spearheading the campaign.
On the North Carolina driver’s license, a red border denotes that the possessor is under the age of 18. Drivers under the age of 21 receive a license with a yellow border, while the licenses of those over 21 are marked by green borders.
Although this policy has been in place for years, many North Carolinians still do not understand the color-coded system.
John Simmons, deputy director for operations at the N.C. Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement, said the state conducted a survey to see if residents were familiar with the color-coded licensing.
Only 30 percent of those surveyed understood the meanings of the border colors, he said.
The new campaign should improve the public’s understanding of the license system, especially among retailers, Simmons added.
“It is an additional means to get the word out,” Simmons said. “We expect it to have a very significant impact.”