Shipley shop sells illegal electronic cigarette to a child
Friday 2 August
On the 1st August 2024, Mr Karwan Mustapha from Bradford appeared at Bradford Magistrates Court regarding the sale of a disposable electronic cigarette to a child under the age of 18 from his business Shipley Superstore (Bradford) Limited trading as Shipley Superstore, 9 Market Square, Shipley, BD18 3QB. The electronic cigarette also did not comply with The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 as it had a tank capacity greater than 2 ml and was not registered with the MHRA. Mr Mustapha pleaded guilty to the company committing the offence under the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 and the Children and Families Act 2014 and the company was fined £240 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £96 and costs of £1837. Mr Mustapha also pleaded guilty to supplying an oversize disposable electronic cigarette as the Director of Shipley Superstore (Bradford) Limited and was fined £120 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £48 and costs of £1837. Also in court was the seller Mr Ali Qorahbi who also pleaded guilty to selling the disposable electronic cigarette to a person under the age of 18 was fined £40 and ordered to pay a surcharge of £16 and costs of £100.
The case was launched after West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service (WYTSS) received complaints about the premises selling electronic cigarettes to underage children. In May 2023 a 15-year-old volunteer entered the shop, under the supervision of a Trading Standards Officer, and asked to buy an Elux 3500. They were able to buy an Elux 3500 blueberry strawberry blackberry flavour disposable electronic cigarette for £9.50 without being challenged about their age or asked for any form of ID by the seller. It is an offence to sell electronic cigarettes to a person under the age of 18.
Mr Mustapha, the Director of the business was interviewed later. During the interview Mr Mustapha read a prepared statement in which he said he was the owner and sole Director of Shipley Superstore (Bradford) Limited and that he had overall responsibility for all areas of the company. Mr Mustapha said he has one employee who reports to him and that he had been given training regarding underage sales, but this was not recorded.
Mr Qorahbi was also interviewed later and gave a pre-prepared statement that he had received training and thought he had previously checked the identity of the test purchaser and accepted full responsibility for the sale. He thought the test purchaser was 18 and would not have sold if he had known they were 15 years old.
David Strover, Head of Trading Standards (Business Services) said, “the sale of vapes to children should not be happening within our communities. We wrote to this business to make them aware of complaints we had received and informed them a test purchase may follow. The health risks associated with juvenile use of vapes should not be underestimated. Vapes are an adult product suitable for ex-smokers – the sale of vapes to children is unacceptable. Retailers need to ensure they have systems in place to avoid selling vapes to minors and train their staff accordingly. I would like to thank all the partners and members of the public for reporting illegal sales and encourage everyone to continue doing so to reduce the harm caused by vapes and tobacco in our communities.”
Councillor Sue Duffy, Deputy Chair of the West Yorkshire Joint Services Committee which oversees the work of Trading Standards said “it is clearly irresponsible not to check the age of teenage customers wanting to purchase age restricted goods. Test purchases are undertaken regularly by Trading Standards staff to ensure shops adhere to the law on tobacco, e-cigarette and alcohol sales. The simple task of asking for identification and verifying the age of younger customers will help to reduce underage e-cigarette use.”
Consumers wishing to report illegal trading practices, including the sale of age restricted goods to children can call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133 to report their concerns - this can be done anonymously.