Shops warned about price of selling illegal vapes

A North Yorkshire man has appeared in court for storing and selling illegal vapes

Shopkeepers selling illegal vapes are risking people's health and could be jailed, North Yorkshire trading standards officers have warned.

It came after a Ripon retailer admitted selling vapes containing more than 2ml of nicotine-containing liquid and selling vapes without the required labelling.

Barlick Megatronic Mobiles Ltd, trading as Phonefix, and its director, Humayoun Khan, 35, admitted the charges at York Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

Because the company was dissolved after the offences, North Yorkshire Council said, the court imposed no penalty. Instead Khan was fined £350 and ordered to pay costs.

The authority said its trading standards team had visited the premises in The Arcade, Ripon, on two occasions in 2024.

When they first visited the shop, in February 2024, officers seized 654 illegal products.

A vape containing 10,000 puffs, equivalent to the nicotine in about 50 packets of cigarettes, was sold to an officer.

Then when the team returned in October 2024, the council said, officers found hundreds of vapes for sale, 226 of which did not have the required labelling, instructions or dosage information.

Again an officer was sold an illegal vape, this time containing 9,000 puffs

Councillor Richard Foster, who oversees trading standards at North Yorkshire Council, said shopkeepers who stored and sold illegal vapes risked a criminal conviction with a significant fine or imprisonment.

He said the council was passed information by schools and the police about which shops were selling vapes to under-18s, or offering illegal vapes.

Information also came from the public, he said, and the authority would not hesitate to take action against businesses found to be flouting the law.

"The subject of vaping has been in the headlines for some considerable time now and shopkeepers should be aware of the laws surrounding the sale of illegal devices," Foster said.

In June, disposable vapes were banned across the UK in order to protect children's health and prevent environmental damage.

Listen to highlights from North Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North