Council chief's vape health alert as Wigan stores fined for selling to minors

Collapsed lungs and coughing up blood are some of the symptoms blamed on the juvenile use of e-cigarettes, Shevington GCSE student Nathan Chesworth having been one such victim last year.

And this was a message Wigan Council’s cabinet portfolio holder for police, crime and civil contingencies, Dane Anderton, was keen to hammer home this week after stores flouting the law were brought to justice.

Following investigations and prosecutions by the local authority, Farfan Latifi of Local Shop in Leigh was ordered to pay a total of £620, including a £100 fine and Habib Hakim of Kaz Mini Market in Ashton was ordered to pay a total of £760 including a £200 fine.

Both had pleaded guilty and appeared at Wigan and Leigh Magistrates’ Court earlier this month.

It is illegal to sell an e-cigarette or vape to someone aged under 18.

Coun Anderton said: “Our teams are proactive in tackling shops who continue to break the law and sell vapes to teenagers from investigation to prosecution to conviction.

“NHS advice is very clear: vaping is not for children and young people. With their lungs and brains still developing, they are more sensitive to the effects it can have.

"There have even been cases of teenagers with a collapsed lung and coughing up blood due to vaping.”

These successful prosecutions come on the heels of a further premises – Best in Best, of Railway Road in Leigh – last month being banned from selling vapes for 12 months, due to underage sales of vapes.

Latifi of Local Shop, Lord Street in Leigh, was caught selling vapes to a 15-year-old as part of a trading standards investigation.

Likewise, Hakim of Kaz Mini Market on Bryn Steet in Ashton, was caught selling a similar product to a 16-year-old.

Coun Anderton added: “If you have concerns about a shop selling vapes to teenagers, please report it to Trading Standards at [email protected] or call by calling 0808 223 1133, so we can investigate.”