Stories about stings being played out to catch retailers selling cigarettes to underage customers are growing in number. Some catch people behind the counter doing the wrong thing while others appear to be entrapment. Regardless, selling cigarettes is getting to be more complex than the margin justifies. While we have been out of the category or ten years, I do know of others doing very well. The key appears to be big, well managed and with good staff training around compliance. It’s those selling $1,000 or less a week where compliance slips, managing stock is a challenge and the cost challenges the return.