7-Eleven recently agreed to pay $1.2 million to settle allegations that its stores violated a ban on vape sales too close to D.C. schools.

The District’s Office of the Attorney General accused 16 of the convenience chain’s stores of violating a 2022 law banning the sale of electronic cigarettes and vapes within a quarter mile of middle and high schools, 10 of which were company-owned and six franchisee-operated.

Attorney General Brian Schwalb’s office said in a release Tuesday that the 16 stores sold, offered for sale and received for sale over 7,500 electronic smoking devices in violation of the law. 

The alleged violations of the ban occurred, the attorney general’s office said, even though 7-Eleven warned the 16 stores in August 2022 that the ban would go into effect in October 2022.

To settle the allegations, 7-Eleven paid the fine and removed all electronic smoking devices from its stores in city school zones. 

7-Eleven is also barred from advertising such devices in school zone stores, is required to train staff at corporate-owned stores in compliance with the city vape sale restrictions and must monitor franchise-owned stores, the attorney general’s office said.

Franchise-owned stores will be monitored each quarter. If a franchise-owned store racks up four violations of the ban on selling electronic smoking devices near schools within two years, 7-Eleven has to terminate the franchise agreement and notify the attorney general’s office.

That office didn’t specify whether the settlement means that 7-Eleven accepted the allegations as truthful. The chain hasn’t responded to a request for comment.

• Brad Matthews can be reached at bmatthews@washingtontimes.com.