A Gloucester shop owner has been ordered to pay £5,412 after being found guilty of selling illegal disposable vapes containing more nicotine liquid than permitted by law.
Jamal Safarkhani, 47, of Park End Road, Gloucester, was convicted of four offences relating to the possession, sale and supply of non-compliant electronic cigarettes at Cheltenham Magistrates’ Court on 3 August.
Safarkhani, who owned One Stop Shop on Southgate Street, was ordered to pay £307 for each of the four offences, along with £3,693 in costs and a £491 victim surcharge.
The charges followed a Gloucestershire County Council Trading Standards investigation between May and November 2024.
During a test purchase on 30 May 2024, a Trading Standards officer bought a Hayati Pro Ultra 15,000+ puff disposable vape from the store. The packaging stated that the product contained two 12ml oil tanks.
Under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016, disposable electronic cigarettes are limited to a maximum of 2ml of nicotine-containing liquid.
Trading Standards officers subsequently inspected the shop on 6 June 2024 and seized 103 illegal electronic cigarettes.
Further inspections on 2 October and 1 November resulted in the seizure of another 41 and 120 illegal vapes respectively.
In total, 264 illegal electronic cigarettes were seized from the premises, in addition to the product purchased during the test transaction.
Gloucestershire County Council said the legal limits are designed to establish minimum safety and quality standards and protect consumers, including children and young people.
Cllr Paul Hodgkinson, cabinet member responsible for Trading Standards at Gloucestershire County Council, said: “Illegal vapes are not a harmless breach of the rules. The legal limits exist to protect consumers and to help prevent products with excessive nicotine-containing liquid being sold in our communities.”
He added that Trading Standards officers would “continue to take action where businesses ignore those requirements”.