Burrill Street Liquor faces a seven-day suspension from selling tobacco products, along with a fine, following disciplinary action taken by the Board of Health for selling a vape to a minor.
Massachusetts raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21 at the end of 2018. The law applies to all tobacco products and electronic nicotine delivery systems, such as e-cigarettes and vapes. The Board of Health has discussed the issue with Burrill Street Liquor at recent meetings following the incident, which took place on July 23, 2025.
“As the Health Department, we want to make sure that kids are not being sold products that they should not have access to,” said Board of Health Chair Gargi Cooper.
The North Shore–Cape Ann Tobacco Control Program hires youth between the ages of 16 and 20, all under the legal purchasing age of 21. The program partners with local boards of health to enforce tobacco regulations by monitoring sales and providing education on tobacco and nicotine products.
The owner of Burrill Street Liquor, Nguyen Vu, said at the Board of Health meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 17, that his company applied to sell nicotine-based products in October 2024. After reviewing “all of our records that we received from the distributor,” Vu told the board, “we have never purchased the yellow” Airis vape.
“We use a third party point of sale company to track sales, and this shows in a year what we sold, which is all pink and blue only,” Vu said. “That was not purchased from my shop, so I don’t know where she’d get that from.”
Director of Health Jeff Vaughan argued that the specific product was secondary to the core issue of selling to someone under the age of 21.
“The fact is that a minor went into your store, bought something without being carded,” Vaughan said. “I believe that happened. You admitted yourself that you don’t card everybody.”
Vu acknowledged that Burrill Street Liquor does “not card everyone who we think is over the age, and that is our fault.”
Cooper said the board must rely on information provided by the state.
“We’ve been truthful even if it doesn’t make us look good,” Vu said. “The employee we have now, him and I, we have been a lot more diligent. Signs are up. Cards are ready before they get to the register. We’ve made some changes.”
Board of Health member Lawrence Block asked Vu what changes the store had made, including whether it implemented formal education or required employees to sign a document stating, “I will card every person who purchases these products, regardless of how old I think they are.”
“This is the kind of thing we want you to do,” Block said. “I don’t want your money.”
Block asked Vu if he had read the regulations, to which Vu said he “vaguely remembers.”
“You say you’re working on education. It’s been months since we’ve met and talked about this,” Cooper said. “Your staff should be educated at this point.”
There were concerns over what number violation this incident would be for Burrill Street Liquor. It was agreed for Burrill Street Liquor to be fined as if the July incident was a second violation. There was a dispute over an alleged violation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Block also noted that “no one else has had three violations like this.”
There were also concerns about which violation number the incident represented. It was ultimately agreed that Burrill Street Liquor would be fined as if the July incident were a second violation, following a dispute over an alleged violation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Block noted that “no one else has had three violations like this.”
The standard penalty would be a seven-day suspension from selling tobacco products and a $2,000 fine, but Vu negotiated the fine down to $1,000 plus the suspension, arguing that “we have never sold the product.” The Board of Health agreed to the reduced fine contingent on proof of changes to the store’s sales procedures.
“It’s very frustrating from where I’m sitting because we don’t sell that,” Vu said. “I’m getting punished for that.”
