Metro Convenience Store No Longer Allowed to Sell Tobacco

By Rusty Surette, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverage Laws Enforcement Commission has suspended the tobacco permit of an Oklahoma City convenience store for selling tobacco products to minors.

"It's the first store in the state to have this happen," said ABLE Assistant Director Jim Hughes.

Authorities said they're cracking down on retailers because the state is close to losing millions of dollars and they can't afford that right now.

The tobacco permit of Linh Thi Khah Pham, owner of OK Food Market, located at 8121 N Western Avenue, has been suspended for 10 days.

Agents said the OK Food Mart does not ID and has a history of selling tobacco products to minors.

"It's a pretty simple. Simple thing to do is to ask a kid for an ID," Hughes said.

NEWS 9 joined the ABLE commission for an undercover sting earlier this year and found that most clerks in the metro do ID juvenile, but it’s the few that don't that could cost the state close to $7 million.

"We had a compliance rate of about 90 percent this year, but if that falls under 80 percent the state is subject to lose some federal funding," Hughes said.

That's why the commission continues to crack down on these illegal sales, and if retailers refuse to obey the law the fines could cost them big bucks.

In addition to the suspension and a $600 fine, OK Food Market is prohibited from selling tobacco products from its drive-thru for six months.

If the store violates the drive-thru ban, an additional 20-day tobacco permit suspension will be automatically imposed.

"He says he plans to correct it. He doesn't want to be here again and he doesn't want to lose his revenue again," Hughes said.

The clerks who sell the tobacco to teens are also hit with fines. It's a $100 fine for the first offense, $200 for the second and $300 for the third offense.