Shropshire Council Trading Standards has prosecuted two local businesses for illegal sales of vapes, resulting in convictions and fines.
Positive Business Communications Ltd, trading as Vapafone on Castle Street in Shrewsbury, was prosecuted following a test purchasing operation in June 2023 in which a 17-year-old volunteer was able to buy a vape without being asked their age.
The business claimed to have implemented all reasonable precautions to prevent the offence, but due to poorly kept refusal logs and inadequate staff monitoring the court was not satisfied it had met the requirements.
The company, which had previously received advice from Trading Standards, was found guilty of selling a vape to a person under the age of 18 and issued a fine of £1,500, plus costs of £3,535.10.
In a separate case, convenience store business Niro & Show Ltd Uk was ordered to pay more than £21,000 after admitting to the sale of nicotine-containing vapes with a capacity in excess of the legal limit.
The company, which operates the Thresher store in Shrewsbury, the Oswestry Convenience Store in Oswestry and the Londis store in Worthen, was the subject of an investigation in 2023 in which 3,668 oversized vapes were seized from the three premises.
Niro & Show Ltd first came to the attention of Shropshire Trading Standards team during a visit to the Threshers store in Shrewsbury in 2022 during which 377 oversized disposable vapes were identified as having at least five times the permitted capacity of nicotine liquid. Further visits to all three shops were undertaken in 2023 and 3,082 illegal disposable vapes were seized.
The Threshers store continued to sell oversized vapes in the evenings, believing that Trading Standards Officers only undertook visits during office hours. Following an unannounced test purchase in February 2024, a further 209 illicit vapes were seized.
At a hearing at Telford Magistrates Court on 5 August, Showkumar Jeyaratnam admitted to five charges of selling oversized vapes on behalf Niro & Show Ltd Uk. The business was ordered to pay fines and costs of £16,621, while Jeyaratnam was ordered to pay fines and costs of £5,021 – a total of £21,642.
Councillor Chris Schofield, Shropshire Council cabinet member for planning and regulatory services, said: “Our Trading Standards team is committed to working with businesses to help them adhere to legal requirements and act in a responsible manner. However, as this case demonstrates, if needed we will proceed with enforcement where a business continues and repeatedly fails to adhere to legal controls.
“The sale of these illicit vapes undermines the legitimate market and poses a potential danger to users who may not be aware of the nicotine content or the ingredients of these products.
“We will not hesitate to take action against traders who ignore the law and we urge anyone who has concerns about illegal vapes to report them to us.”
