Crack down on illegal cigarette sales needed: Health Minister
Posted Apr 30, 2010 03:47:01 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Nova Scotia’s health minister says we have to do a better job preventing teens from buying tobacco illegally.
There’s a new report indicating one in three Nova Scotia retailers is selling smokes to 17-year-olds.
Health Minister Maureen MacDonald says that statistic is not good.
“I look at those numbers and I think that the situation is a national situation,” she said. “But Nova Scotia can clearly do better.”
Mike Hammoud with the Atlantic Convenience Stores Association says he’s surprised by the numbers. Three years ago, almost 86 percent of retailers refused to sell to teens in a mystery shopper test. Now it’s more like 66 percent.
He wants to know why a store would take the risk.
“The penalties are quite high,” he said. “Having the right to sell the product is probably the biggest penalty.”
Hammoud isn’t aware of any of his 1000 members being charged. He says, in fact, they have a “We Expect ID” program where staff are trained not to sell smokes to anyone under 19.
