A Bradford shop sold a 13-year-old cigarettes during an undercover operation – despite being warned they might be targeted.
Kirklees Magistrates Court heard in May 2024, a 13-year-old volunteer entered the Pound Saver store in Southfield Lane and purchased a packet of 20 Benson and Hedges cigarettes for £13.50 without being asked for identification or having her age questioned. The sting was carried out under the supervision of an Officer from West Yorkshire Trading Standards following intelligence the business was selling tobacco products to minors.
In subsequent interviews, both Mr and Mrs Seddighi accepted full responsibility for the sale and acknowledged they were aware of the age restrictions on cigarette sales. Mr Seddighi has since sold the shop.
On Monday, January 6 Mohammad Harun Seddighi and Nazi Seddighi appeared in court and admitted offences under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933, which prohibits the sale of tobacco to underage individuals. The court issued fines of £80 each to Mr and Mrs Seddighi, along with victim surcharges of £32 and costs of £500, bringing the total to £612 each.
David Strover, Trading Standards Manager Business Services Team, said: “The flagrant sale of cigarettes to children should not be happening within our communities.
“We wrote to this business to make them aware of complaints we had received and informed them a test purchase may follow. The health risks associated with tobacco are considerable and shops need to ensure they have systems in place to avoid selling tobacco to minors.
“Trading Standards will continue to investigate allegations and make test purchases to reduce the prevalence of this issue. I would like to thank all the partners and members of the public for reporting illegal sales and encourage everyone to continue doing so to reduce the harm caused by tobacco in our communities.”
Councillor Sue Duffy, Deputy Chair of the West Yorkshire Joint Services Committee, which oversees the work of Trading Standards, said: “It is clearly irresponsible not to check the age of teenage customers wanting to purchase age restricted goods. Test purchases are undertaken regularly by Trading Standards staff to ensure shops adhere to the law on tobacco, e-cigarette and alcohol sales. The simple task of asking for identification and verifying the age of younger customers will help to reduce underage tobacco use.”
Consumers wishing to report illegal trading practices, including the sale of age restricted goods to children can call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133 to report their concerns this can be done anonymously.
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