10 Stores Cited in Salesof Cigarettes to Minors

Source from:  By John Nickerson stamfordadvocate.com Staff Writer 05/18/2008 05/19/2008

A state official announced Friday that during an unannounced inspectionlast week, nearly one in three stores that sell cigarettes sold tobacco products to minors. On Wednesday, Norwalk police and investigators from the state Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services wrote citations to 10 store clerks who sold tobacco products to an underage youth during the sting, said Carol Meredith, assistant director for the state's Prevention Services Department. The inspections were conducted Wednesday when a underage youth visited 34 stores in Norwalk and successfully purchased cigarettes in 10 of them, according to a statement from the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. "We are not playing a game of gotcha with these store owners," Meredith said in a telephone interview. "It is for the public good. It is a public health issue that we are trying to address." Meredith said the state is mandated by federal law to perform the unannounced inspections. "We do it to make sure kids aren't getting access to cigarettes and are not starting that habit early," she said. Each offending clerk was issued a $200 citation, the statement said. The cigarette dealer licensees at each establishment also face additional administrative sanctions from the Department of Revenue Services, the state agency that issues the licenses, the release said. The stores that failed Wednesday's inspection were: El Samartino Grocery & Deli, 112 S. Main; La Sorpresa Restaurant, 61 Cedar St.; Dave's Amoco, 452 West Ave.; Borinquen Grocery & Deli, 71 S. Main; Crespo & Son, 81 Woodward Ave.; El Mercadito Grocery, 33 Bouton St.; Norwalk Capital Partners, 114 Connecticut Ave.; Norwalk Amoco, 104 Connecticut Ave.; Utopia, 150 Connecticut Ave.; and Miracle Shell, 94 West Ave. Enditem