A TOWN centre shop has been ordered to pay almost £20,000 after a series of offences related to the sale of illegal e-cigarettes and the underage sales of vaping products in Barnsley.
Market Hill Convenience Store was found to be selling vapes which had a nicotine volume of more than two millilitres, which is over the legal limit.
They were also found to be selling vaping products that didn’t include the correct labelling and health information, such as warnings about nicotine being a highly addictive substance.
Young people visiting the store with undercover officers from Barnsley Council’s regulatory services team and South Yorkshire Police were also sold vapes during test purchases.
The business was sentenced last Thursday for offences contrary to the Nicotine Inhaling Products (Age of Sale and Proxy Purchasing) Regulations 2015 and the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.
In total, they were ordered to pay £19,211.55 for their offences.
Coun Wendy Cain, cabinet spokesperson for public health and communities, said: “We’re fully committed to preventing the sale of illegal tobacco and vapes in Barnsley, protecting the health of our communities and ensuring young people cannot access addictive and dangerous nicotine products.
“This successful prosecution is another example of how we will take action against those who sell these illicit products and put our communities at risk.
“I would like to thank the hard work and dedication of all the officers involved in the investigation and prosecution, with our regulatory and legal services teams working hand in hand with South Yorkshire Police to make this prosecution possible.”
Over £10,000 worth of illegal vapes were also seized by regulatory services during their visits and have since been destroyed.
The council said it has an ‘unwavering commitment’ to safeguarding public health with an emphasis on stopping illicit e-cigs, while South Yorkshire Police said operations to disrupt associated criminality will continue given the county-wide success.
Chief Superintendent Laura Koscikiewicz added: “Removing illegal vapes, cigarettes and tobacco from our streets is one of our key priorities as we are aware that the amount being discovered was very high.
“Our officers work hard alongside the council to find these illegal substances.
“The safety of the people across the whole of South Yorkshire is our priority and these illegal substances are being sold to people with potentially harmful chemicals within them, which could cause serious health problems.
“I can assure the people that the hard work does not stop and we continue to focus on this issue and make it a key priority.”
If you have any information about the sale of vapes and other restricted items to children or about the sale of illegal e-cigarettes, report it by emailing regulatoryservices@barnsley.gov.uk or calling 01226 773743.
