Tobacco Power-Wall Deadline Looms

Source from:  BY ROBYN YOUNG, TRANSCONTINENTAL MEDIA The Nova Scotia Business Journal 08/29/2007

Store owners have just over a week left to make sure all tobacco products are out of sight. "On Sept. 1, they are to receive a written warning if they're not in compliance; they have 30 days after that to come into compliance," said Steve Machat, manager of tobacco control with the Health Promotion and Protection Department. The department told vendors to cover tobacco power walls by Aug. 1, or receive a verbal warning. Now they're approaching step two: written warnings. Store owners around the city are reacting in different ways. Ann Franz, who owns the Daily Grind Newstand & Cafe on Spring Garden Road, has opted to turn cigarette packages sideways, for now. "We're just getting the staff used to not really being able to see the cigarettes," she said. Franz has discussed changes with officials from Health Promotion and Protection, and said she'll have new cabinets built to the proper specifications by the first of the month. But Abraham Farah, who owns Auburn Video and Variety in Dartmouth, might be slapped with a written warning. He keeps his smokes on full display at the Auburn Drive store, because it's already been the target of numerous break-ins and Farah wants to make sure his employees are safe. "When we put it under the counter, they will beat us every day," he said. Farah said he can't afford the custom-made cabinets, and he needs help from the government. "You have to help us; don't go against us," he said. Machat said he's heard the safety complaint from vendors, but doesn't think it should be a problem. He said clerks already lose sight of the retail area when they turn around toward tobacco displays to get cigarettes. He encourages store owners to continue instructing employees about safety, just as they always have. Ashish Jaggi, whose father owns Chebucto Grocery on Chebucto Road, said they've put the cigarettes under the counter because that's their only option. "The small stores cannot afford the cabinet right now," he said. There will be no compensation from the government, Machat said. "Inspectors are trying to walk through with each vendor the less expensive, less intrusive ways of covering the tobacco," he said. Mike Hammoud, a spokesman for the Atlantic Convenience Store Owners Association, said the government needs to go back to the table and reconsider the regulations. "Our issue is implementation, not legislation," he said. The new rules have done nothing but cause confusion for store owners in Nova Scotia, he said. Enditem