The federal government took its first actions ever against retailers for selling cigarettes to minors, an action usually reserved by states.
The Food and Drug Administration has filed complaints against eight retailers across the country for selling tobacco products to minors. The agency seeks to halt all tobacco sales at the retailers, which include grocery stores, gas stations, liquor stores and even a pub.
The FDA has never taken action against retailers for selling to minors. Normally a state agency is tasked with going after the stores.
Federal power over regulating cigarettes and tobacco products was boosted in a 2009 law. The agency can go after a retailer that has five or more violations of certain restrictions on selling tobacco products, which include sales to minors.
The FDA issued the first-ever no-tobacco-sale order to the retailers. The stores have 30 days to respond to the complaint.
If the order goes into effect, a retailer is responsible for ensuring that the establishment doesn’t sell tobacco products for 30 days.
“Removing or covering tobacco products are examples of steps that a retailer may choose to take to ensure compliance with [a no tobacco sale order], but these specific actions are not required,” the agency said.
It is up to the retailers to decide what measures to take to ensure none of the products are sold during the period.
The agency said that taking on retailers that provide cigarettes is a key way to curb youth smoking. Each day more than 2,600 minors smoke their first cigarette and nearly 600 become daily smokers, the agency said.
Meanwhile, the agency is still trying to figure out how to regulate electronic cigarettes, which have exploded in use among minors. The agency has proposed a federal rule that would prohibit sales to minors and other regulations, but it hasn’t been finalized.
The stores the FDA targeted are:
- Thais Mini Market LLC doing business as I and S Grocery Inc. in Newark, N.J.
- C and C Supermarket LLC in Irvington, N.J.
- Yemco Fuel Inc. and Nakeeb Hassan doing business as Marathon in Detroit.
- Kat Party Store Inc. doing business as Mr. Grocer Liquor Store in Detroit.
- Family Food Market Inc. in Detroit.
- Horizon Enterprises Inc. doing business as 95th Mobil and Food Mart in Chicago.
- Mon-Jan Corp. doing business as Monaghan’s Pub in Baltimore.
- MFA Petroleum Co. doing business as Break Time 3028 in Columbia, Mo.
