Croydon retailer fined nearly £5,000 for underage and non-compliant vape sales

Croydon Council has secured a conviction of the proprietor of a vape shop in Brigstock Road, Thornton Heath, for selling a vape to a child during a test purchasing exercise.

The owner of Mobile and Vape, Lalbaz Safi, was fined £600 after pleading guilty to the offence at Croydon Magistrates Court on 25 November.

Mr Safi also pleaded guilty and was fined a further £400 for selling non-compliant vapes. These exceeded the permitted levels of nicotine, did not display a health warning and did not have UK contact details, as required under the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016.

Alongside the vape-related convictions, Mr Safi was fined £280 for selling hair products that did not have a batch number and did not display contact details under the Cosmetic Products Enforcement Regulations 2013.

A victim surcharge of £512 was imposed and costs of £3,000 were awarded to the Council. The total financial penalties came to £4,792. A forfeiture order was made in relation to the seized products.

The sale offence took place on 13 February during a test purchasing exercise conducted by the council’s trading standards team. The remaining offences were the result of a seizure of 104 suspected non-compliant vapes and other items including 93 hair dye products on 14 November 2023. Examination of the vapes and laboratory analysis confirmed the above offences.

During sentencing, the district judge remarked that the underage sale was the most serious of the offences and that there were no safeguards in the shop to deter underage sales, by way of signage, till prompts or a refusals register, where refused sales to underage customers are recorded.

The prosecution follows Croydon’s trading standards team winning Team of the Year at the London Trading Standards Awards 2024, held earlier this month.

“Our Trading Standards team is the best in London, as we work with residents and traders to make sure items that are sold in the borough meet safety regulations,” Jason Perry, executive mayor of Croydon, said.

“Making Croydon cleaner, safer and healthier is my priority and we will continue to take enforcement action where traders breach their legal duties.”

Businesses can contact the Council if they would like more information to deter underage sales or any other trading standards assistance.