1,080 NC clerks caught selling tobacco to minors
RALEIGH — North Carolina’s Division of Alcohol Law Enforcement cited more than 1,000 store clerks last year for selling tobacco or tobacco products to a minor.
The division said Tuesday that its agents conducted almost 6,600 unannounced tobacco compliance checks in North Carolina in 2008, and store clerks were cited in 95 of the state’s 100 counties.
Violators can be fined up to $1,000 or ordered to perform up to 30 days of community service. If a store clerk has prior convictions, he or she could face jail time.
Division Director Bill Chandler says most store clerks properly check identification cards and refuse to sell tobacco to minors. But he says “some clerks found out last year the penalties can be severe.”
The division is part of the state Department of Crime Control and Public Safety.
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
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