CHARLEMONT — The Board of Health has issued a $5,000 fine and a seven-day tobacco license suspension to Cold River Package & Market for selling cigarettes to a minor.
Pioneer Valley Tobacco Coalition Coordinator Merridith O’Leary told the board on Tuesday that during a recent compliance check, a cashier at the store sold cigarettes to one of the coalition’s youth tobacco control officers. The Pioneer Valley Tobacco Coalition is a grant-funded regional coalition that aims to address youth access and exposure to tobacco products through policy, compliance and enforcement.
“We follow a rigorous standard of practice for youth officers,” O’Leary said. “They are always told to be truthful when asked their age.”
O’Leary said that on June 27, a youth tobacco control officer was sent into Cold River Package & Market at 31 Main St. with $20. They asked the cashier for a pack of Marlboro cigarettes and the cashier sold the cigarettes to them without asking for their age or for an ID. The cigarettes were taken by the adult tobacco control officer who was waiting for the youth, and the sale was reported to the state database and the local Board of Health.
“This is the third offense in 36 months. Unfortunately, that’s where we’re at right now,” said Franklin Regional Council of Governments Health District Program Manager Randy Crochier.
“I apologize. I don’t want kids smoking,” Cold River Package & Market owner Kristie Faufaw told the Board of Health. “I don’t believe she (the cashier who sold the cigarettes) wanted to sell to a minor, but she just didn’t do her job.”
Faufaw said she intends to install Intellicheck software on the computer in the store to allow cashiers to verify IDs, and she plans to pay for staff to take additional training on age verification requirements. She asked the board to lessen the $5,000 fine to allow her to pay for some of these measures, however, O’Leary informed the board that the fine amount is set by state regulations.
The board voted unanimously to issue the $5,000 fine and the seven-day tobacco license suspension.
Reach Madison Schofield at 513-930-4579 or mschofield@recorder.com.
