A shop in the Wiltshire town of Calne has been forced to close for three months after it was found to be selling illegal tobacco and vapes by the local Trading Standards team.
Wiltshire Trading Standards Officers visited Smoke City shortly after it opened in November 2024 and purchased a packet of hand-rolling tobacco in non-standard packaging without the legally required English-language health warnings. There had also been complaints that the shop was selling age-restricted products to children.
One of the non-compliant vapes seized from the shop (image credit: Wiltshire Trading Standards)
A more substantial inspection was carried out on 19 December 2024 when Trading Standards Officers, supported by Wiltshire Police, seized 92 non-compliant vapes, 345 packets of cigarettes and 87 pouches of hand rolling tobacco. A rucksack containing £3,055 in cash was also seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The employee working at the premises was recognised by officers as the same person who was previously working at New Road Mini Market in Chippenham, which was served with a three-month closure order on 12 December 2024. Paperwork relating to the previous closure order was also found on the premises.
At Swindon Magistrates Court on 24 January, Smoke City was given a three-month closure order under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014. Only those who are named habitual residents and authorised persons are now permitted to enter the address, and anyone else entering the premises is committing a criminal offence and on conviction may be sentenced to 51 weeks imprisonment and/or a fine.
Councillor Dominic Muns, Cabinet Member for Environment at Wiltshire Council, said: “I’d like to thank our Trading Standards Officers for their hard work getting another positive result. Thanks also to Wiltshire Police for their collaboration this week, supporting us to keep the public safe and stop these unscrupulous traders from trading. Their collaboration is invaluable when we carry out these operations.
“Unfortunately, businesses that sell non-compliant vapes and illegal tobacco products have little regard for the impact on their customers’ health. Illegal tobacco is not regulated or manufactured to the same standards as normal tobacco and is often found to contain higher levels of harmful substances, as well as chemicals which are not normally permitted.
“With this being the sixth closure order of this type in Wiltshire in the last six months, I hope this sends a message that we are committed to tackling businesses that aren’t complying with the law and deters others from taking part in similar activities.
Wiltshire Police’s Sergeant Mike Tripp said: “We are determined to clamp down on businesses which put the public’s health at risk by selling non-compliant tobacco and vapes.
“The laws around them are there for a reason. We know there is a real risk that illicit vapes and tobacco, such as that seized in these raids, could contain dangerous levels of nicotine or chemicals you don’t know you’re inhaling.
“We are grateful to Trading Standards for their work and collaboration on these raids and we will continue to work with our partners to keep the public safe.”
The closure notice in Calne follows closure notices being obtained by the Wiltshire Council Trading Standards team for vape businesses in Chippenham, Devizes, Melksham and Salisbury in 2024.
