The practice of breaking up a pack to sell individual cigarettes, dubbed "loosies," has been banned for years by state law in Illinois and Missouri...

Before Katie Zimmerman got a job as a waitress, the 18-year-old got her after-school nicotine fix for about a quarter.

In a smattering of mom-and-pop convenience stores everywhere, including St. Louis and the Metro East area, a single cigarette can be bought for less than a piece of candy, something that experts say targets the poor and the young.

"It's what you do when you're low on money and all you have is change," Zimmerman said in an interview as she smoked a Marlboro Medium across the street from Roxana High School, where she is a senior.

Fellow senior Jodi Counts, 18, said lots of teens buy singles because they're cheap. Advertisement

"I'm one of the few who buys packs," she said.

The practice of breaking up a pack to sell individual cigarettes, dubbed "loosies," has been banned for years by state law in Illinois and Missouri.

But it's difficult for state agencies to enforce, and some local communities have taken matters into their own hands. St. Louis and St. Louis County have bans on the sale of loosies. Alton enacted a ban 18 months ago, and Wood River is considering a similar ban. But experts say the success depends on how aggressively a city enforces bans.

Donald Beasley II, who owns Beasley's convenience store in Wood River and says he sells from 1,000 to 2,000 loosies a week, called the idea of a ban ridiculous.

"The speed limit is 55, but people set their cruise control at 60," he said of why he sells loosies despite the state ban. Beasley sells the single smokes for 14 cents to 30 cents each, based on brand. A pack of 20 Marlboros costs roughly $4.25 in most Illinois stores.

Beasley also questions whether selling loosies has any effect on teen smoking.

"It's against the law whether a teen buys a carton or a single, and we don't sell to minors," said Beasley, who has been selling loosies for about three years and doesn't plan to stop.

Tax-free profits

Selling loosies is common in poor, urban areas where customers, especially young people, don't want to shell out $3 to $4 for a pack.

For stores, the profit motive is strong: Loosies can bring as much as 50 cents a piece, tax-free.

"It's been going on for years," said Pat Lindsey, program director of the Tobacco Prevention Center for the St. Louis University School of Public Health. Some experts believe loosies date to the Great Depression, when few people could afford a pack.

Youths are especially sensitive to cigarette prices, said Doug Luke, director of the Center for Tobacco Policy Research at SLU. The cheaper it is to smoke, the more likely young people are to try, he said.

Wood River Police Chief William Webber said he proposed the loosie ban last month after several people complained. If the ordinance is enacted, it will allow the city attorney to prosecute violators, Webber said.

David Sutton, a Philip Morris USA spokesman, said the company has no position on the sale of single cigarettes.

"Our products are intended for adults," Sutton said.

But Lindsey, of the Tobacco Prevention Center at SLU, doubts the tobacco industry minds the sale of loosies.

"The tobacco industry always supports these practices???‚¬?¦ (It) knows that if a child can smoke a few cigarettes occasionally, they can get hooked and then they have a smoker for life. ???‚¬?¦ A sales rep for Philip Morris would never walk into one of those stores and tell them to quit doing that."

Sutton, of Philip Morris, denied that, saying his company believes that children should not smoke.

Weak penalties

Many retailers are willing to sell tobacco products to minors, according to the Missouri Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Control. In inspections of 277 retailers last year, 44 percent sold to a minor.

Pete Lobdell, a supervisor for the division, describes the tobacco and convenience store lobby as "very strong" in Missouri. The fine for a first offense of selling to a minor is $25. It takes five violations before the state can restrict a retailer for selling tobacco for a single day, he said.

Those who defend the practice of selling loosies say it can help wean heavy smokers from the habit. Beasley, the store owner in Wood River, said some people stop in before work to buy four loosies to get them through the day so they don't smoke more.

Smoker Tony Scott, 45, of St. Louis, says he has tried that approach.

"Yeah, I've bought cigarettes for a quarter before," Scott said in an interview in downtown St. Louis. "But, every time I finish those, I go ahead and buy a pack."

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