Cazenovia Stores Fined in Minors' Tobacco Sales

Source from:  Thursday, June 12, 2008 By Aaron Gifford Staff writer 06/12/2008

Two Cazenovia stores have been cited for selling tobacco to minors, Madison County Health Department officials reported. The P&C grocery store in Town and Country Plaza was cited Feb. 19, its third violation since 2001. Kinney Drugs, at 41 Albany St., was cited for its first violation on the same date. The Health Department published the violations in a legal notice this week. Both stores paid a fine of $300, said Aaron Lazzara, the county's assistant director of environmental health. Under the state's Adolescent Tobacco Use Prevention Act, county health departments are responsible for conducting at least one check on every tobacco vendor in their county. Repeat offenders are subject to repeat checks. In the compliance checks, trained volunteers younger than 18 try to buy cigarettes or chewing tobacco while a health department employee looks on. Health department employees have to be within earshot of the sale. There is also a point system where the state can revoke or suspend a business's license to sell tobacco products based on the number of offenses and the business's efforts to comply. The points are erased after three years. The P&C store's previous violations took place more than five years ago, Lazzara said, but the legal notice publicized the fact that this was the store's third violation since 2001. P&C company officials issued a statement saying "all associates who sell tobacco are trained and take a course that is approved by the New York State Board of Health. Every month the associates are retrained and reminded of the rules. The Cazenovia associate in violation was terminated upon proof that a transaction took place." A Kinney spokesman said he was not aware of the incident at the Cazenovia store and declined further comment. Enditem