Shopkeeper fined for selling tobacco to kids

Under age children trying to purchase cigarettes won’t be succeeding at a Horfield shop whose owner has just been fined £500 for selling cigarettes to young people.

Mr Amanat Ali, of Horfield Food Store & Off Licence, Gloucester Road, Horfield was fined £500 and ordered to pay £651 costs for selling cigarettes to a young person.

The shop was caught out by Bristol City Council’s Trading Standards Officers earlier this year during an operating to target premises selling tobacco to people under 18 years of age.

A volunteer successfully purchased cigarettes from the shop and Trading Standards officers managed to get a successful prosecution against Mr Ali and the company.

Jonathan Martin, Bristol City Council’s Trading Standards Manager, said:  “Our recent under-age test purchasing operation revealed 14 out of 20 shops sold cigarettes to children. This is a serious offence clearly demonstrated by the fine imposed. Retailers should take note that the continued sale of age restricted products to under-age customers will not be tolerated and robust action will be taken.”

Hugh Annett, Director of Public Health for Bristol, said: “The younger a person starts to smoke the more damaging and harder to quit it can be.  We are working positively to help young people not to smoke but on the other side we must also take action to stop them being sold cigarettes”.