Illegal Sale of E-Cigarettes to Minors: Manchester Shop Owner Sentenced

According to the British media outlet Manchester Evening News, on April 24th, a takeaway shop owner in the UK was found to have hidden illegal e-cigarettes inside a pizza box and sold them to a 13-year-old boy.

The 32-year-old man named Zaishan Jahangir, owner of "Mr. Zee's" store on Jolichapel Street, was caught selling counterfeit e-cigarettes. Authorities conducted an inspection of the store on April 18 and discovered 33 illegal e-cigarettes hidden in pizza boxes behind the counter. These devices, known as "4000 Pocket e-cigarettes," had a 10 milliliter capacity, exceeding the legal limit of 2 milliliters or 600 pockets. While some legal devices were on display on the counter, higher capacity e-cigarettes were being concealed.

Zahangir received a warning from trade standards officials after being informed that his equipment was illegal, prohibiting him from selling any e-cigarettes to anyone under the age of 18. He promised to implement a "Think 25 policy," which involves asking for identification from customers who appear to be under 25. However, on May 17th, a 13-year-old boy with a hidden camera walked into the store. Video footage revealed that the boy was clearly underage, as the camera on his chest hardly lined up with the store's camera.

However, when the boy asked Zahanjir to sell him an e-cigarette, the salesperson inquired about the capacity of the device he wanted.

He then said, "Tell your friends to buy here too, it's the cheapest."

Afterwards, trade standards inspection officials entered the store and identified themselves. They found another 14 illegal devices behind the counter, despite Zahangir receiving a warning a month prior. During the continued investigation, officials discovered that the takeaway shop owner had also been posting advertisements for e-cigarettes on the store's Facebook page. In court, Mr. Traynor stated that advertising any tobacco or e-cigarette products on social media is illegal.

In July 2023, the Joeli City Council issued a closure notice to Mr. Zee's out of concern for its involvement in selling e-cigarettes and fireworks to children, which is considered antisocial behavior. The store was initially closed for three months, but the ban was later extended to six months. Zan Shan Zhahangir pleaded guilty to four violations of the trading standards law, including selling unauthorized e-cigarettes, selling e-cigarettes to children, and advertising the sale of e-cigarettes.

The court recorder, Daniel Lister, stated during sentencing, "I believe this is serious because e-cigarettes are addictive due to their marketing methods and flavors that appeal to young people. It's not your fault, I won't punish you for the actions of an industry, but you knew you shouldn't sell e-cigarettes to those under 18, yet you still did so."

He was sentenced to eight months for each count of selling illegal proportion e-cigarettes and online advertising of e-cigarettes, with a fine of 100 pounds for selling e-cigarettes to children. However, due to current prison capacity, he can suspend the sentence for 18 months and is required to complete 150 hours of unpaid work and attend 15 days of rehabilitation activities. The judge also fined him 150 pounds, rejected his suspended sentence, and prohibited him from owning more than three e-cigarettes at once.