Council secures two prosecutions for under-age sales of vaping products

Cheshire West and Chester Council has achieved two successful prosecutions relating to the sale of vaping products to underage children.

On Thursday 27 October 2022 and Friday 28 October 2022, the Council’s Trading Standards officers conducted a test purchasing operation of vapes and vaping products at premises in Chester and Ellesmere Port, where intelligence had been received that they were selling vapes to children under the age of eighteen.

During the operation, John Murphy (70) from Liverpool, a licensed street seller in Foregate Street in Chester city centre, sold a ‘cola’ flavoured vape, which contains 2% nicotine, to a 15-year-old child volunteer.

The defendant failed to challenge the customer regarding her age and did not request any identification to confirm that she was over 18 years of age before making the sale.

The defendant has since voluntarily agreed to stop selling vapes on his stall.

The second case related to a sale made by Nasar Kahn, a sales assistant at ‘Brandz4less Ltd’ in Thelwall Road, Ellesmere Port, where a fourteen-year-old child volunteer was able to purchase at ‘strawberry ice cream’ flavoured vape, which again contained 2% nicotine.

In this case, the owner of the business can also be held responsible as well as the member of staff who made the sale.

Both cases were heard at West Cheshire Magistrates Court on 16 August, all defendants failed to attend but had entered written guilty pleas.  

Street seller, John Murphy was fined £440, ordered to pay costs of £742 and a victim surcharge of £176.

The owner of Brandz4less, Mr Mr Izhar Ali Kahn from Cheetham Hill Road, Manchester was fined £1666, ordered to pay costs of £520 (legal and investigation) and a victim surcharge of £666.  The store assistant, Mr Nasar Kahn was fined £440, ordered to pay costs of £520 (legal and investigation) and a victim surcharge of £176.

The Councils Cabinet Member for Homes, Planning and Safer Communities, Councillor Christine Warner said: “These two successful prosecutions in one day show how we will take swift enforcement action against those retailers who continue to sell these products to under 18s.  The sale of age-restricted products to young people under the age of 18 is a criminal offence.

“The rise in the number of young people vaping remains a significant concern and is often featured in news reports.  Our work with retailers will continue to ensure they are aware of their legal obligations and these products are kept out of the hands of our young people, to protect them from harming their health.”

The prosecutions related to charges under Section 92 of the Children and Families Act 2014, concerning the Prohibition of sale of nicotine products to persons under 18.