The owner of a convenience store in the Weston area of Bath has been fined £1,000 and ordered to pay costs after being found selling illegal vapes.
Local businesses that sell vapes are being warned they could face court proceedings if the products they sell are illegal following two successful investigations by Bath & North East Somerset Council.
On 23rd October 2024 at Bath Magistrates Court, Darshan Balendran, owner of the Spar shop in Weston, was found to have more than 100 illegal vapes for sale when officers from the council’s Trading Standards team visited on 1st May.
Balendran entered a guilty plea for one count under The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016. He was fined £1,000 and ordered to pay a victim surcharge of £400 and costs of £1,059.
Also on 23rd October, Thuraisingam Yogamoorthy, owner of Kaay Stores in Westfield, also pleaded guilty to a single offence under The Tobacco and Related Products Regulations 2016 after officers found 39 illegal vapes at the shop during a visit on 16th May.
Yogamoorthy also entered a guilty plea for an offence brought against the company under the same regulations.
Yogamoorthy was fined £1,000, and the company Aathenaa Ltd was fined £1,500 for the offence. Costs and surcharges were ordered totalling £2,300.
The prosecutions were brought as the council cracks down on the sale of illegal vapes in the area, following three successful prosecutions of traders in March this year.
To be legally sold in the UK, disposable vapes are required to have undergone a safety assessment and authorisation process with the Medicines & Healthcare products Regulatory Agency.
Illegal vapes undergo no such assessment to ensure they are safe for consumers to use.
It is also a requirement that disposable vapes have a tank size of no more than two millilitres.
Councillor Tim Ball, cabinet member for neighbourhood services said: “Our trading standards team will continue to work hard to stop illegal vapes being made available to the public.
“We will continue to make checks on retailers that sell vapes and protect consumers from the harm that can be caused by illegal products.”
Businesses are reminded that the sale and supply of vapes is controlled by regulations and encourage them to check that the stock they have is lawful.
