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EUN-KYUNG KIM Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - After months of federal efforts to curb teen smoking, lawmakers found themselves red-faced Thursday over a report about a pair of 15-year-olds who easily purchased cigarettes at snack bars throughout the Capitol.
In an undercover operation conducted by the American Lung Association, the two teens attempted to buy cigarettes at nine food stores in the Capitol and in House and Senate office buildings. Clerks at five of the shops made no effort to stop them, according to a report released by the group.
``Congress doesn't need to look beyond its own back yard to see the extent of the teen smoking problem,'' said John Garrison, the lung association's managing director. ``If these laws are being ignored in Congress, is it any wonder that youth smoking is on the rise throughout the United States?''
The chairman of the House Oversight Committee, which oversees administrative matters, said he has ordered an investigation into the report.
But Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., also expressed concern he wasn't able to get a copy of the report until after its results were published Thursday in the congressional newspaper, Roll Call.
The cigarettes should never have been sold to the teens, said Thomas' spokesman Jason Poblete.
``It's illegal, first and foremost. It was wrong and it should not have happened,'' he said. ``But the fact this information was being withheld from us shows they are just playing politics.''
Paul Billings, an ALA spokesman, said the organization released a draft of the report to Roll Call because of its deadlines. A formal report was released to lawmakers as soon as it was available a day later.
Guest Services Inc., the company that operates many of the Capitol facilities targeted in the sting, was not available for comment.
After hearing the report, Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott took aim at the lawmaker who helped conduct the sting, Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.
``This did bring to light whether Congressman Waxman participated in other illegal acts,'' said Lott spokesman, John Czwartacki. ``Has he had kids go around D.C. to try to buy drugs? I wonder if Rep. Waxman in any other way contributed to the delinquency of this minor.''
Waxman called the claims ``simply ludicrous,'' saying he did nothing illegal. While retailers are prohibited from selling tobacco products to minors, it is not against the law for minors to buy cigarettes, he said.
In a letter sent to Lott, Waxman emphasized that the parents of the two teens involved gave their permission to conduct the operation.
``The American Lung Association is the messenger of bad news. Its reports shows a high rate of illegal cigarette sales to children on the Capitol grounds,'' he wrote. ``Rather than shoot the messenger, I would hope that you would take serious and immediate steps to ensure that the illegal sales of cigarettes to children shop.''
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