I think we've come a long way in doing so. The 1997 Legislature mandated penalties for retailers who sell or provide tobacco products to minors. Under Senate Bill 55, retailers are prohibited from selling cigarettes or other tobacco products to anyone under 18 and must request photo IDs from customers under the age of 27. A warning sign notifying employees and customers about the tobacco law and its penalties must be placed in stores that sell tobacco products. The law prohibits the placement of tobacco vending machines in such a way that products are accessible to minors.
Retailers are subject to random inspections.
Since January 1, more than 1,000 teen-agers have taken the mandatory classes. From January through June, the Comptroller's Office had conducted 1,767 compliance inspections of entities permitted to sell tobacco products. Teaming up with the Texas Department of Health, the Comptroller's Office oversees implementation of the youth smoking law and has distributed more than 100,000 informational brochures and 169,000 warning signs. They dot the Gulf Coast and proliferate in the Central Texas Hill Country. An inn need not serve breakfast to fall into this category.