Three Halifax Retailers in Court for selling e-cigarettes to children
Tuesday 9 July
On 4th July 2024, three traders from Halifax appeared separately in Bradford Magistrates Court each to answer to the sale of an e-cigarette to a 15-year-old child. It is an offence to sell an e-cigarette to anyone under the age of 18. One of the traders also sold an e-cigarette which is illegal for sale, as it was oversized, containing more than the permitted 2ml of nicotine liquid.
The businesses were known to West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service (WYTSS) as numerous complaints had been received alleging the premises selling e-cigarettes to children.
A representative of Johal Brothers Halifax Ltd, 16-18 Wheatley Lane, Halifax, HX3 5EU, failed to appear at Bradford Magistrates Court to answer a charge of selling a Blueberry, Cherry, Cranberry Elf Bar under the Children and Families Act 2014. In their absence, the Magistrates found the company, Johal Brothers Halifax Ltd, guilty of the offence under the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 under the Children and Families Act 2014. The Magistrates issued the company with a fine of £1000. The company was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £400 and costs of £2096.85, totalling £3496.85. The amount was to be paid in full within the next 28 days.
Mr Tyler Jones, the employee who sold at Johal Brothers, appeared at Bradford Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to committing the offence under The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015. . Mr Jones was ordered to pay a fine of £133 and a victim surcharge of £53, totalling £186 to be paid in full within 28 days.
In August 2023, a 15-year-old volunteer entered the shop under the supervision of a Trading Standards Officer and asked to buy a vape. The seller sold an Elf Bar 600 Blueberry, Cherry, Cranberry flavour disposable e-cigarette to the volunteer for £6.00, without asking for identification or challenging their age. The Directors of Johal Brothers Halifax Ltd were invited to attend a formal interview under caution however, neither invited party attended the interview. The seller, Tyler Jones, assisted officers with their investigation and attended an interview under caution. During the interview he stated that he had not received formal training from his employer regarding the sale of age restricted products but that he is aware that he should ask for ID and knows what ID is acceptable.
Mr Mohabat Khan, trading as Smoke King, Halifax Borough Market, 43 Market Street, Halifax, HX1 1DY, failed to appear at Bradford Magistrates Court to answer to charges under the Children and Families Act 2014. In his absence, the Magistrates found him guilty to the offence under the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 and the Children and Families Act 2014. The Magistrates issued him with a fine of £256. He was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £102 and costs of £1981.31, totalling £2339.31. The amount was to be paid in full within the next 28 days.
Mr Abdul Muttalib, the seller at Smoke King, appeared at Bradford Magistrates Court and pleaded guilty to committing the offence under The Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 an offence by virtue of The Children and Families Act 2014. Mr Muttalib was ordered to pay a fine of £256 and a victim surcharge of £102, totalling £358 to be paid in full within 28 days.
In August 2023, a 15-year-old volunteer entered the shop under the supervision of a Trading Standards Officer and asked to buy a vape. The seller sold an Elf Bar 600 Blueberry flavour disposable e-cigarette to the volunteer for £5.00, without asking for identification or challenging their age. Mr Khan was invited to attend a formal interview under caution however, he did not attend. The seller, Abdul Muttalib, assisted officers with their investigation and attended an interview under caution. During the interview he stated that at the time of the sale he was looking after the business for his brother who was overseas, along with looking after his own business. He stated that he had not received any formal training from the owner regarding selling age restricted products but he had been told.
A representative of Mr Blue Limited, 300 Gibbet Street, Halifax, HX1 4JX, failed to appear at Bradford Magistrates Court to answer to charges under the Children and Families Act 2014. In their absence, the Magistrates found the company guilty of an offence under the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015, the Children and Families Act 2014 and The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. The Magistrates issued the company with a fine of £2000. The company was also ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £800 and costs of £2782.76, totalling £5582.76. The amount was to be paid in full within the next 28 days.
In August 2023, a 15-year-old volunteer entered the shop under the supervision of a Trading Standards Officer and asked to buy a vape. The seller sold a Crystal Pro Max 4000 Fizzy Cherry flavour disposable e-cigarette to the volunteer for £10.00, without asking for identification or challenging their age. The current Director of Mr Blue Limited, Mr Adel Abdulla Omar, attended a formal interview under caution. Mr Omar stated during the interview that he took over the business on 1st October 2023 and was not the Director of the company at the time of the test purchase.
David Strover, Head of Trading Standards (Business Services) said, “this series of cases highlights the work Trading Standards does to counter the sale of vapes to children. The sale of vapes to children should not be happening within our communities. We wrote to the businesses to make them aware of complaints we had received, and we informed them a test purchase may follow. 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 Ann Kingstone of the West Yorkshire Joint Services Committee 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 vapes, tobacco and alcohol sales. The simple task of asking for identification and verifying the age of younger customers will help to reduce underage vaping and tobacco 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.