Westchester Businesses Charged with sale of Tobacco, Vape and Beer Products to underage customers

Three Mount Kisco businesses were recently charged with selling alcohol or vaping products to a youth who was under 21 years of age.

Westchester County Police and the Westchester County Department of Health sent the underage youth into multiple stores in Mount Kisco last week at the request of the Village. They conducted compliance checks to ensure that shops that sell beer, tobacco or vaping products were complying with laws that prohibit such sales to persons under 21 years old.

The stores that failed were:

•          Smoking of Chen Inc., (doing business as The Smoking King), 32 Main St, which is charged with selling vaping supplies to a person under age 21, a violation of New York State Public Health Law;
•          Henry’s Deli at 351 Lexington Ave. and Mount Kisco Snacks at 540 Main St., which are charged with selling alcohol to a person under age 21, a violation of the state Alcohol Beverage Control law.

Smoking of Chen was cited for a similar violation in 2019 and Henry’s Deli was charged with selling cigarettes to an underage person in 2019.

“The Village appreciates the continuing enforcement efforts of the Westchester County Police and the Westchester County Department of Health to ensure compliance with regulations prohibiting the sale of tobacco and alcohol to minors. We will advocate to suspend the license for businesses who continue to put the health of and safety of our children at risk,” Mount Kisco Mayor Gina D. Picinich said.

Public Safety Commissioner Thomas A. Gleason said the County Police conduct enforcement and public education in conjunction with its Office of Drug Prevention & Stop-DWI to deter underage persons from using alcohol, tobacco or vaping products.

“We continually conduct these compliance checks and work in partnership with community organizations and the municipalities we serve to encourage young people to make safe and healthy choices,” Gleason said.