Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Health Enforcement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board upholds 25‑day suspension for 7‑Eleven franchisee after clerk sold tobacco to a minor
Summary
The Board upheld a 25‑day suspension of a tobacco-sales permit for a 7‑Eleven franchise at 2398 Eighteenth St., finding the sale to a 16‑year‑old decoy and that staff failed to request ID; the vote was 4–1.
The San Francisco Board of Appeals on Aug. 10 upheld a 25‑day suspension of a tobacco sales permit imposed by the Department of Public Health after a clerk at a 7‑Eleven franchise sold tobacco to a minor during a decoy operation.
Franchisee Matt Patel, who has operated the store for 16 years, acknowledged the sale but urged the board to consider the severity of a 25‑day suspension for a first offense and described steps taken since, including retraining staff and installing software to require swiping state IDs at point‑of‑sale terminals.
Dr. John Ojo of the Health Department said the evidence showed the decoy identified herself as 16 and that the clerk proceeded with the sale; the department cited Health Code section 1009.66 authorizing suspension of retail tobacco permits for such violations (up to 90 days) and defended the 25‑day suspension as reasonable.
The clerk who made the sale testified that he asked the decoy if she was old enough and relied on a nonverbal response; the board noted the clerk did not request identification. Commissioners discussed the economic impact on the franchisee, proximity to a school and the necessity of asking for ID as a minimum safeguard.
After deliberation, a motion to uphold the department’s 25‑day suspension carried on a 4–1 roll call; the board’s finding included that a sale occurred and that identification had not been requested.
The Board directed that the finding be recorded in its minutes; any further remedies or petitions would proceed under DPH administrative rules.
