South Gloucestershire Council has prosecuted a Yate shopkeeper for possessing and selling illegal oversized vapes.
Mr Anwar Sdiq, 44, of Bishopworth in Bristol and sole director of Worthy Market Bristol Limited (trading as Yate Market) with its convenience shop located in Yate Shopping Centre, pleaded guilty to supplying and being possession of illegal oversized vapes when he appeared at Bristol Magistrates’ Court on Monday 30 September.
Sdiq was fined a total of £9,549, ordered to pay council costs £3,632.33 and required to pay £3,180 in victim surcharges, making a total of £16,361.33. An order authorising the forfeiture and destruction of all 73 seized vapes was also made.
The court heard that charges were brought against Sdiq and his company following a complaint made to South Gloucestershire Council’s Trading Standards service that the Yate shop was supplying illegal e-cigarette devices from the premises.
Trading Standards officers made a test purchase of one of the devices and supported by officers from Avon and Somerset Police, Trading Standards returned to the shop on 30 November 2023 and seized a further 73 disposable e-cigarettes containing more than the maximum 2ml nicotine e-liquid limit prescribed by law.
Councillor Sean Rhodes, cabinet member responsible for Trading Standards at South Gloucestershire Council, said: “I’m pleased to see this considerable fine handed out and the illegal vapes taken off the street. Only legally compliant e-cigarettes that have undergone the MHRA submission and notification process should be sold to customers.
“The council’s Trading Standards team continue to respond to complaints and undertake routine checks to ensure only legally compliant vapes are sold to the public. During the last three years we have seized over 9,500 illegal disposable e-cigarette devices with a retail value of over £76,000.
“Although vaping is considered far safer than smoking traditional tobacco products, inhaling nicotine through a device is not risk free. Legislation is in place to regulate products that are placed on the market. Responsible retailers only sell e-cigarette devices that are legally compliant with the law. Those retailers’ who choose to put profit before compliance can expect a visit from the council’s Trading Standards team.”
Anyone who suspects they may have been sold, or is aware of a business supplying, non-compliant disposable e-cigarettes are urged to report it to Trading Standards via the Citizens Advice Consumer Service www.citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer/ or 0808 223 1133, or by reporting it anonymously to Trading Standards South West at www.tssw.org.uk/work-areas/report-it/
