Supermarket refused to sell cigarettes to 59-year-old man on a Zimmer because he had no ID

OMG this is totaly crazy, mark me if im wrong but is it not so that in the states you have to provide ID to buy booze? Sure someone mentioned that to me before.

And now here it moves onto to cigs, and an old boy cant even buy a pack of smokes without ID, how far have things really gone?

James Earls is almost 60, has grey hair and uses a walking frame.

So he was more than a little surprised when he tried to buy a packet of cigarettes and was asked to prove he was over 18.

He was even more shocked when staff refused to sell him the cigarettes because he had no ID on him to prove his age.

Supermarket refused to sell cigarettes to 59-year-old man on a Zimmer because he had no ID

A couple of months ago i worked in manchester, and one my collegues said he'd gone to the local asda superstore and was ID for booze under the challenge 25 policy (i used to work in the pub trade and totaly understand/agree with it within reason) this guy was an old looking 36 year old man, no way he should have been ID'd for booze.

It's going to get to the point where by which were going to need ID for everything, and that ID is going to be tied in with the ability to make a purchse, receive health care, be processed at checkpoints (oh they will be on their way soon enough, just wait for the tolled motorways!), even burried after death.

I worked at a gas station a while back, no matter if they were 190 years old no ID no Cigarrettes, very serious, I also was ticketed for selling to a minor..... $500 so some places ID everyone, no matter what.

I know for a fact its not law here to require ID to buy either booze or cigs, there is this "challenge xx" initiative which pretty much all business have to take up where by which if you look under the age of 21 when purchashing goods requring you to be over the age of 18 then you will be ID but its down to the server, and for the person to refuse service to an old man thats cleary of legal age to buy the "gear" is just plain stupid

The landlord of the pub i worked for in manchester was a bit of a twit like that to the point where he would undermine the decision i or others would make and his take on it if they turned out to be younger than 21 is that oh well you should have ID'd them which is BS cos its there to identify people that are under 18 and not under 21.

Its just a sign of things to come, over there uve had that business in place for a while requiring ID to buy goverment drugs (booze n cigs) and its gonna get that way over here, like i said before it wont be long before its a papers please situation everytime we want to do something in life.

Here if you the individual gets it wrong ur subject to an £80 fine and if you hold a personal licence card (permits the sale and supervision of the sale of alchol - with the appropriate premisis licence) that can be taken away and as a business owner i think its a £2000 fine plus repeated targetting by the local law enforcement (or well supposedly - more so for pubs and troubled shops/areas).

[edit on 11/2/2009 by phushion]

Is this seriously that big of a deal? Supermarket dosn't sell old man ciggarettes because he has no ID. I know its stupid, but not that big of a deal that it has to make the news.

Surely this happens daily.

reply to post by blayze


Well its in the MSM so their either nitpicking for stories or someone thought it was worth the article, but seriously come on i could understand if say it was a 25 year old that got ID'd for cigs under the chanllenge 25 or 21 policy, but at the end of the day its aint law here yet, so why did this shop assistant be a twit about it, you can cleary see the fellas of legal age.

The point here really is the enforcement of having to carry ID around with you all the time to get by, as i stated earlier what next, will you need ID to go to the hospital, you dont at the moment, will you need it to make any kind of purchase in the future?

In the UK and other countries they want to push for an ID system that will be recognised amongst those countries if not globaly and whats to stop the system from enforcing the need to have ID to be able to make a purchase of any kind of good.

I read something on Mexico essentially refusing the sale of mobile phones unless (if i recall rightly) finger prints are taken? Let me find the link.

Fingerprinting all cell phone users - The Watchman's Cry
Telegrap h



[edit on 12/2/2009 by phushion]

I don't drive. I learned like everyone else when I was sixteen. Years ago, I went in the beer store to make a purchase. I had been in just a few days prior, and bought beer using my then-valid learner's permit license.

The cashier had seen me and spoken to me many times. He asked for my ID, and I handed him my *just expired* driver's license, with my clear picture on it, the one he had looked at countless times before.

"Sorry", he said, "your ID's not valid".

"What do you mean, it's not valid?"

"Well, it's expired".

"So, you mean to tell me that because the date stamped on it has passed, I'm no longer the person shown on it, and it no longer validates my age of majority, even though it did three days ago because the expiration date hadn't passed then?"

He just looked angry at me.

The last sentence I gave him sums up how I felt about the whole ridiculous thing.

I think the law states if you look over a certain age you don't have to show ID.
I think its older than 30 or something.
More than likely the person serving him has no clue about this.
And probably just doesn't like smokers.