A Newport shopkeeper has been prosecuted after trading standards officers caught him selling illegal vapes. Kalpesh Patel was selling the vapes at least four times over the legal limit in his Lifestyle Express store at Corporation Road in Maindee.
Patel, 53, appeared at Cwmbran Magistrates Court on Thursday, November 17 where he pleaded guilty to one offence of having disposable vapes available for supply that breached regulations. He admitted a further three offences of failing to include an information leaflet with the products.
The vapes in Patel’s store had between 2,500 and 3,500 puffs of nicotine-containing liquid in each tank. The legal limit is around 600 puffs or two millilitres.
Magistrates told Patel he would be fined £1,332 and would have to pay £1,046 in costs, plus a victim surcharge. Councillor James Clarke, Newport City Council cabinet member for strategic planning, regulation and housing, said the defendant’s actions posed a serious risk to the public.
“These vapes posed a serious risk to health and I’m pleased the magistrates recognised the gravity of the offence,” Cllr Clarke said. “Our trading standards officers are to be commended for taking action to protect the health of the public. I’d urge anyone with concerns about possible similar occurrences to contact them.”
Read next:
- 'I renovated a derelict barn and it cost me my relationship as well as my money'
- The Welsh schoolboy who became a marketing genius working with the world's biggest companies
- Paddy Power gets 1,200 sheep to send Wales a good luck message ahead of England World Cup clash
- Couple taken to court court over £7.9K bill for following Covid rules
- The old food and other products found inside an empty shop left untouched for decades
