A town health board whose members sniffed flavored cigars before penalizing a convenience store for selling them acted within its authority, the Massachusetts Appeals Court has ruled. The April 17 ruling came after a convenience store chain appealed a lower court ruling upholding the actions of the Yarmouth, MA, Board of Health in fining the store and suspending its license to sell tobacco for a week for violating board regulations prohibiting the sale of some flavored tobacco products. The regulation listed a number of prohibited flavor types, such as fruit. The appellate ruling cited the testimony of ASPiRE CAB member Cheryl Sbarra, who had explained the evidence behind a list of flavored products that the Massachusetts Association of Health Boards made available to the health inspectors who cited the store after visiting it. The ruling disagreed with the store’s claim that the violation should be thrown out because the board’s “smell test” was unscientific, saying it was “common sense” and supported by evidence, such as advertising claims, offered by Sbarra and other witnesses. The court overturned the fine on procedural grounds but upheld the rest of the board’s actions. See the ruling.