Brighton shop ordered to close for selling illegal vapes – Brighton and Hove

A Brighton shop has been ordered to close for a month for selling illegal vapes and cigarettes and supplying vapes to children.

Illegal vapes and counterfeit tobacco products were seized from Nila Vape on Lewes Road, owned by Rasohl Omar Hama, on two separate occasions.

Products were also seized from two nearby retailers when Trading Standards and Sussex Police visited other convenience stores in the Lewes Road area following the closure of Nila Vape.

Large numbers of children had been visiting the area to purchase vapes, resulting in increased anti-social and nuisance behaviour in the area, District Judge Tessa Szagun heard at Brighton Magistrates Court last Wednesday.

Councillor Leslie Pumm, chair of the Equalities, Community Safety and Human Rights Committee, said: “I would like to repeat the warning that all retailers need to ensure all disposable e-cigarettes, e-liquids and vaping devices they sell meet UK legal requirements and remind them about the age restriction on the sale of vapes.

“Local business owners have been briefed on the legal requirements around selling of vapes.

“Many people may not realise the potential long-term health damage caused by unregulated vaping devices.

“We expect retailers to know better than to risk their livelihoods and the wellbeing of our residents.

“We will be continuing our crackdown on the selling of illicit vapes and tobacco products and the selling of these to vulnerable young people.

“Anyone selling vapes to someone under 18 is committing an offence.

“The owner of the business can be held responsible as well as the member of staff who made the sale.”

Legal vapes – those approved by the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency – must not exceed 20mg per two percent of nicotine concentration and 2ml in capacity, or around 600 ‘puffs’.

Illicit vapes might contain higher doses of nicotine and various dangerous chemicals such as lead, tin, nickel or THC, leading to central nervous system damage and inhibited brain development in children or young people.

The hidden lithium battery in both disposable and rechargeable vapes can also cause fires in trucks and waste facilities when thrown away in household recycling or the rubbish bins.

To report sales of illicit tobacco or sales to under 18s, please contact Brighton and Hove Trading Standards by e-mailing [email protected].

You can also file an anonymous report via the Crimestoppers website or by calling 0800 555 111.