UK Shop Fined Over £100,000 for Selling Vapes to Minors and Hiding Illegal Tobacco

Key Points

• Case origin: After a parent’s complaint, enforcement officers sent a 16-year-old volunteer who successfully purchased an oversized vape, confirming illegal sales.
• Seized items: 13,920 illegal cigarettes, 275 non-compliant vapes, nearly 2 kg of rolling tobacco, and other illicit products.
• Penalty: The company was fined £96,000, plus £2,540 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge.
• Defendant: Shop owner and company director Shabez Salehi admitted multiple offences, including breaches of tobacco, family, and trademark laws.
• Official response: Wolverhampton council called the case “extremely serious,” stressing the importance of protecting youth from vaping harm.

2Firsts, September 2, 2025 — According to a BBC report, a shop in Wolverhampton, UK, named Honey Mini Market, has been fined over £100,000 for selling vapes to minors and concealing a large quantity of illegal tobacco products.

The case began when a concerned parent filed a complaint with Trading Standards. Enforcement officers then arranged for a 16-year-old volunteer to purchase from the store, where he was successfully sold an oversized vape, confirming the shop’s unlawful sales.

Following this, enforcement teams, assisted by sniffer dogs, raided the premises and uncovered 13,920 illegal cigarettes, 1.95 kg of illicit rolling tobacco, 200 g of shisha, 275 non-compliant vapes, and other contraband products. The items had been hidden behind false bathroom walls, sliding shelves, and a concealed attic hatch.

Shop owner and company director Shabez Salehi admitted multiple offences at Dudley Magistrates’ Court, including violations of the Tobacco and Related Products Regulations, the Children and Families Act, the Trademarks Act, the Children and Young Persons (Protection from Tobacco) Act, the Companies Act, and the Proceeds of Crime Act. The court fined the company £96,000, with an additional £2,540 in costs and a £2,000 victim surcharge. Salehi himself was ordered to pay £2,540 in costs and a £114 victim surcharge.

In addition, Salehi received a 12-month community order and must complete 200 hours of unpaid work.

Wolverhampton City Council officials described the case as “extremely serious,” stressing the need to protect young people from the harms of vaping. UK law prohibits the sale of e-cigarette products to anyone under 18, and since June 1, 2025, the UK has also enforced a full ban on disposable vapes.

Previously, 2Firsts reported on the state of the UK vaping market following the disposable ban, noting that while regulatory frameworks have been established, enforcement remains insufficient. (See feature: Special Report｜UK’s Disposable Vape Ban: Compliance Products on the Rise, Yet Loopholes and Weak Enforcement Raise Concerns.)