Netherlands: Face scanners to check age of tobacco buyers

In the Netherlands, people wanting to buy a pack of cigarettes will soon be asked to scan their face. Using artificial intelligence, the camera scans the buyer's face and estimates their age. If the buyer is estimated to be over 25, the transaction can go through, but if there is any doubt, the machine asks the buyer to scan an ID.

From 1^er July 2024, all points of sale will be equipped with NIX18 facial scanners to determine the age of customers who want to buy cigarettes. Currently, around a hundred scanners are already operational, particularly in the Hague region[1].

A procedure similar to that used in airports

“ The process is similar to that of airports during automated identity checks. ", explains Theo Snijders, CEO of scanning company H@nd. However, customers must give their consent. The system looks at characteristics such as skin and wrinkles. If the system thinks the customer is over 25, they can buy the cigarettes. If not, or if the customer refuses to have their face scanned, they must have their ID card, passport or driving license scanned into the machine. The detected data is immediately erased from the scanner's memory, so that no link can be established between the transaction and the scan. " said the system manufacturer.

The legal framework for the scanning process has been developed in collaboration with the product safety organisation NVWA (Dutch Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority), privacy organisations and legal experts, to ensure that buyers' personal data is protected.

The scanner does not store any data and only records the number of scans. The scanner is not a condition for buying tobacco, Snijders said, because that would be illegal.

An effective way to control the buyer's age

Automated age control of the buyer is a measure recommended in France by the National Committee against Smoking (CNCT) in response to the non-compliance with the ban on sales to minors by tobacconists. The latest CNCT survey shows that purchases from tobacconists are the preferred means of supply for young people to obtain tobacco. Thus, 81% of the young smokers surveyed aged 17 said they had never been checked on their age by a tobacconist when purchasing tobacco in the 12 months preceding the survey.

Several regions around the world have already implemented such systems to control age. Since 2023, tobacco retailers in the state of Nevada (USA) are required to use an automated software system to verify the age of people under 40 before selling tobacco products.[2]. The system does not exclude on-site checks. Investigators regularly conduct compliance checks at retailers. Violations relating to sales to minors are punishable by a fine, and failure to use a scanner or software results in an additional fine of $100, regardless of the age of the customer.

Keywords: Netherlands, automated control, minors, artificial intelligence, scanners, identity control, tobacco, Nevada

©Tobacco Free Generation

AE

[1] Smoker's face: scan estimates age of buyer at cigarette stores, Dutch News, published April 4, 2024, accessed April 8, 2024

[2] Tobacco retailers required to use scanning technology or automated software to verify age, Nevada State website, published January 5, 2023, accessed April 8, 2024