Virginia Governor Ralph S. Northam

WHEREAS, Virginia law prohibits the sale of tobacco products, electronic cigarettes, electronic cigars, electronic cigarillos, electronic pipes, or similar products to persons under the age of 18; and

WHEREAS, We Card Awareness Month is a retail education and training effort to boost Virginia retailers’ awareness of and participation in responsible retailing efforts to comply with federal, state, and local laws and to identify, prevent, and deny tobacco and other age-restricted product sales to minors; and

WHEREAS, 2018 is the 23^rd anniversary of the “We Card” Program, Inc., which has provided training and education to the retail community to help retailers comply with age-restricted product laws and serve their communities as responsible retailers; and

WHEREAS, We Card in-store training and education materials, online training program, and mystery shopping service, “ID Check-Up,” are available to all Virginia retailers through the We Card website; and

WHEREAS, We Card is endorsed by the Virginia Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing, which consists of the Virginia Gasoline Marketers Council, the Convenience Store Council, the Virginia Petroleum, Convenience and Grocery Association, the Virginia Retail Merchants Association, and the Richmond Retail Merchants; and

WHEREAS, We Card Awareness Month reminds citizens throughout the Commonwealth of the important work that the We Card Program performs, and encourages Virginia’s retail community to continue to prevent tobacco and other age-restricted product sales to minors;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, Ralph S. Northam, do hereby recognize September 2018 as WE CARD AWARENESS MONTH in the COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA, and I call this observance to the attention of all citizens.