Cigarettes news

Tobacco licence suspended

A CHEERS convenience store had its tobacco retail licence suspended on Sunday after an employee was caught selling cigarettes to an underaged person last Dec. The store, located at Choa Chu Kang MRT station, will not be able to sell tobacco products for six months from last Sunday until July 31, said the Health Sciences Authority on Monday. This is the first such suspension this year. On Dec 10 last year, HSA inspectors caught an employee of the outlet selling cigarettes to a buyer under 18. This was second time such an offence was committed. The first was committed by an employee on Nov 13 last year. The employee was fined $2,000. It is an offence under the Smoking (Control of Advertisements and Sale of Tobacco) Act to sell tobacco products to persons below the age of 18. The offence attracts a maximum fine of up to $5,000 for the first conviction and up to $10,000 for the second or subsequent conviction. The tobacco retail licences are also liable for suspension or revocation if licensees or their employees repeat the offence. Last year, 63 retailers were caught selling tobacco products to underaged persons while this figure stood at 57 in 2007.