Cortlandt Vape Shop Cited For Selling To Minor: Police

CORTLANDT, NY — A Cortlandt business was cited Thursday for selling a nicotine-based product to a youth who was under 21 years of age. Westchester County Police sent the youth into three stores in town as part of compliance checks to ensure that the shops, which sell tobacco and vaping products, were complying with County laws that prohibit such sales to persons less than age 21.

The tobacco/vape compliance checks were funded under a grant from the Cortlandt Community Coalition.

The first location visited was Vapor Tobacco King at 2085 East Main Street. The youth was permitted to purchase a package containing four mango-flavored pods, a nicotine product totaling $16, without being asked to show identification. A summons was issued to the business, which is returnable in Cortlandt Town Court at a future date.

Compliance checks were also conducted at two other businesses in town, which refused to sell nicotine products to the youth after his identification showed he was under age 21. Those businesses that passed the compliance checks were DT Vapor and Smoke, 2081 East Main Street, and Cortlandt Smoke and Vape, 2153 Albany Post Road.

“Westchester County Police regularly conduct compliance checks to ensure that local businesses are not selling alcohol, tobacco, e-cigarettes or nicotine-based products to people under age 21. We will continue to conduct these checks and will continue to work in partnership with the Cortlandt Community Coalition to encourage young people to make safe and healthy choices,” Public Safety Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason said.

Earlier in the week, county police conducted compliance checks at two stores in Mount Kisco. One store passed while the other failed the compliance check by selling a nicotine product to the underage youth.

In June, the Westchester County Board of Legislators passed legislation that raised the age for the purchase of tobacco and related products in the County from 18 to 21. County Executive George Latimer signed the legislation into law days later.

Image via Shutterstock