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The first compliance check in this fiscal year was done in early September. Stores are checked by someone who tries to buy cigarettes without identification. Stores that sell the cigarettes are flagged for noncompliance.
Of the 10 stores in town permitted to sell tobacco, six failed the test – Milton Fuel, Milton Gas, CVS Pharmacy in Milton Marketplace, East Milton Package Goods on Granite Avenue and the Curry College bookstore.
CVS Pharmacy failed again in the second compliance test in October.
Milton Fuel was given a 30-day suspension of its tobacco permit and a $300 fine for a third offense over a 24-month period. Milton Gas received a 10-day permit suspension and a $200 fine for a second offense.
CVS will receive a $200 fine and 10-day suspension for its second offense.
The other stores were first-time offenders and received $100 fines that have since been paid.
Blanchard said he is concerned with the jump in noncompliance incidents.
“We had a period from February of 2006 to December of 2007 without a single sale (of tobacco to a minor),” he said. “That was the longest strength we’ve had in town. So to have half the stores with permits selling (to minors) is quite a bit.”
He said some of the clerks who
were tested were given the ID for a person under 18 and didn’t check the birth date. Licenses for individuals under 18 are vertical rather than horizontal.
Blanchard said stores are also checked for tobacco vending machines, which are banned in the state.
Carl Power, manager of Milton Gas, addressed the Board of Health at its Sept. 15 meeting when the fines were levied. He said there was no excuse for his store selling tobacco to a minor. He said the employee who sold it was looking for his glasses when the sale occurred.
The Board of Health gives annual training sessions to representatives of stores with tobacco permits. Stores can not renew their permits without going through the training.
Training session will take place in December. Licenses must be renewed before Dec. 31.