MIDDLEBORO —No butts about it. People will find it harder to buy cigarettes for a while in town, starting Thursday.
Selectmen, acting as the Board of Health, voted unanimously Monday to issue a $100 fine and temporarily suspend the tobacco license of five retailers who sold cigarettes to minors during a sting operation on June 23.
Selectmen Vice Chairman Allin Frawley, who made the motion, said he wanted the suspension to include weekend sales. Four of the retailers, along with a $100 fine, will have their license suspended for five days from Thursday through Aug. 5.
Those retailers include Sunoco Gas Station, 157 South Main St.; Middleboro Shell, 63 Bedford St.; Capeway Convenience, 578 Wareham St.; and Super Petroleum, 381 West Wareham St.
The four retailers, who sent a representative to the meeting, apologized to the board and said they would retrain their employees.
“I am doing my best to keep my help up-to-date. I am embarrassed to be here,” said Amjad Chaudhry, owner of Middleboro Shell.
The fifth retailer, Cumberland Farms, 87 East Grove St., was issued a $100 fine and a seven-day suspension, Aug. 1-7.
Frawley made the motion for a seven-day suspension because the store did not send a representative to the hearing.
During the suspension, the retailers are instructed to remove all tobacco products from their shelves until the suspension is over, said Jeanne Spalding, town health officer.
Spalding told the board there was an increase in the percentages of violations.
“I am disappointed and aggravated that five are selling to minors,” said Frawley, who asked Spalding to confirm the retailers comply with the suspensions.
“If it continues, we will keep handing out fines and suspensions,” said Frawley.
In another action, Shell Mart, 63 Bedford St., was given a five-day suspension of its food service license beginning Thursday.
The store was cited by Spalding for having out-of-date products on the shelves and a freezer unit operating in violation of temperature requirements.
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