Man, 64, was refused smokes without ID

Published: July 7, 2008 at 7:18 PM

GALLIVARE, Sweden, July 7 (UPI) -- A 64-year-old Swedish man said he is boycotting a local supermarket after a cashier refused to sell him cigarettes without an identification card.

Karl-Erik Borg, 64, said he was enraged when a cashier at the ICA store Gallivare refused to sell him a pack of Marlboros without proof he was over 18 years old, The Local reported Monday.

"I was furious. I've never felt so insulted in my entire life. And I've never experience anything so ridiculous either," he said.

Borg said he was able to have a female acquaintance who had an ID with her purchase the smokes for him, but the experience has prompted him to boycott ICA.

"Seriously, if the cashiers can't tell the difference between an 18-year-old and a pensioner who has served in six U.N. battalions, it's enough to make you wonder if they can even tell the difference between a 500 kronor note ($83) and a 50 ($8)," Borg said.

However, the experience had one result that many would consider positive: "The whole episode has made me so angry that I've decided to quit smoking for good," Borg said.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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