Burrill Street Liquor is facing thousands of dollars in fines and the possibility of a 30-day tobacco sales suspension after a state tobacco compliance check found the store sold a vape product to an underage buyer over the summer.

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 systems, like e-cigarettes and vapes. The Board of Health discussed the issue with Burrill Street Liquor at its recent meetings, following the incident, which took place on July 23, 2025 and marked the third recorded violation for the store.

The Board of Health had originally scheduled the appeal for its September 17 meeting but tabled the matter after the owner did not show up, pushing the discussion to October.

“On July 23rd, 2025, at approximately 2:27 p.m., we sent a youth into Burrill Street Liquor,” Joyce Redford, the director of the North Shore-Cape Ann Tobacco Control Program said. “The youth asked for Airis, which is a bait product. She was not asked for her ID or her age. She paid $25 for the product.”

Redford said the compliance program hires youth between 16 and 20 years old, all under the legal limit of 21 to buy vapes or tobacco, as allowed under state law. The North Shore-Cape Ann Tobacco Control Program partners with local boards of health to enforce tobacco regulations by monitoring sales and providing education on the products.

According to Redford, the July sale at Burrill Street Liquor was the third recorded violation for the store within the state’s enforcement window. She said the shop has violations from May 25, 2021; November 21, 2022; and the July 23, 2025 incident, along with two prior FDA educational warnings for improper tobacco-related signage.

The owner of Burrill Street Liquor, Nguyen Vu, disputed parts of that timeline at the meeting, saying he did not recall receiving notices for earlier violations. Vu also insisted the store does not sell the specific yellow Airis vape shown as evidence.

“We don’t sell that ever before,” Vu said. “You can go to the shop right now. That’s not at the shop.”

Redford, however, stood by the findings.

“She purchased that from the shop. Yes, she did,” Redford said. “We sent the youth in with the money we gave her, and she came out with that product.”

Beyond the evidence dispute, board members also raised concerns about the town’s own follow-up after the 2022 violation, which carried a $2,000 fine. Health Board Chair Gargi Cooper questioned why there was no follow up.

“I’m not understanding why, three years later, we’re now realizing we never followed up on a $2,000 violation,” Cooper said. “That seems kind of egregious.”

The store owner told the board he believed he had paid a lesser amount.

Public Health Director Jeff Vaughan said the records need to be checked before the board can determine whether the July incident legally counts as a third offense, which under state regulations would trigger a $3,000 fine and a 30-day suspension of the store’s tobacco sales license.

“If we can prove that there’s a third, then there’ll be another $3,000 assessed as well as starting the 30-day suspension,” Vaughan said. “But if we can’t prove it, then we would have to consider it the second.”

Vaughan said the board will review receipts, minutes and correspondence to confirm what has already been paid and how previous violations were processed.

An update on the status of Burrill St. Liquors’ tobacco license was expected on November 19, but the Board of Health’s meeting was delayed due to lack of quorum and no new decision was announced.

In the meantime, the board agreed at the October meeting to uphold the $2,000 fine tied to the confirmed earlier violation and keep the question of a third offense – and any resulting suspension – pending until the documentation is clarified.

Vaughan stressed that the board’s focus is on public health, particularly youth access to nicotine products.

“We’re not here to fine people,” Vaughan said. “We want to improve the health of our town. We don’t like anybody smoking, period. We still don’t even want the youth doing it. Please, please card everybody.”