Bad news rolls downhill.

That’s not the exact saying they have in the Army, but it suggests the general approach officials at the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services should be considering to deal with underage tobacco sales.

It was disappointing to learn this week that SRS will be required to spend $2.3 million during the next two years to bolster tobacco education and enforcement efforts as part of a penalty for falling short of federal guidelines for limiting the sale of tobacco to minors.

The money normally would have been used to fund other SRS services for the disabled and disadvantaged. But federal officials said Kansas had to spend more money to improve its practices or lose $5 million in federal grant money. From October 2003 to September 2004, Kansas merchants who were checked for tobacco-law compliance sold to minors 38 percent of the time, which is far above the target of 20 percent. Kansas is the only state in the nation that currently is out of compliance with the federal guidelines.

That’s bad news, and SRS officials should make sure they pass the pain right on down the line to tobacco retailers.

SRS leaders have said the $2.3 million will fund a mix of education and enforcement efforts. The money definitely should be used to fund more of the latter than the former. As the old saying goes, there’s a time for the carrot and a time for the stick. This embarrassing situation should put tobacco retailers on notice that we’re all out of carrots.

In fact, it would be a waste of money to spend much at all on educating merchants. This isn’t rocket science. The law is plain. People under the age of 18 who buy tobacco are breaking the law. All a sales clerk has to do is ask for an ID, spend a couple of quality seconds checking it and then make the right decision.

That last part is where some seem to have difficulties. As one merchant recently noted, a lack of understanding isn’t the problem here; it is a lack of conscience.

“In my opinion, it’s lack of caring, and greed,” said Shana Gollihar, district manager for the Wichita-based chain of Smoker Friendly stores, which hasn’t had a violation in the past three years. “If you don’t care who you are selling to, you’re going to sell more and make more money.”

State leaders should spend the vast majority of the $2.3 million on putting more undercover enforcement agents in the field to document illegal tobacco sales. The fine for a first-time offender should be steep – large enough that it will take several months of cigarette sales to make up the difference. Repeat offenders should lose their licenses to sell tobacco for a significant period of time.

The state has many difficult issues to solve, but this isn’t one of them. This is a case where a simple but firm approach is the best strategy.

And if state leaders insist on putting together some sort of educational campaign, it should be simple. In fact this short note from the state’s enforcement officers to problem merchants might work wonders: “We’ll see you soon.”