Shop owner fined over underage vape sale
Trading standards carried out test purchases in March, and one retailer was caught breaking the law.
A Dumfries shop owner has been hit with a fine after being caught selling vapes to an underage customer.
This comes as trading standards officers continue to crack down on illegal sales across the region.
Two intelligence-led test purchases were carried out in Dumfries in March this year, and one shop failed the test by selling to an underage buyer.
The case was highlighted in a new Dumfries and Galloway Council report, although the retailer was not identified.
The council end-of-year performance report for 2025/26, which will be tabled at Nithsdale area committee next week, states the business “has been issued with a £200 fixed penalty notice.”
The enforcement action comes amid growing national concern about the availability of vaping products to under-18s, with retailers across Scotland facing increasing scrutiny over their sales practices.
It is the latest in a series of trading standards successes, following a major crackdown on illegal tobacco last year that resulted in one of the biggest hauls seen in the region.
A joint operation involving police, Dumfries and Galloway Council trading standards, and HMRC investigators uncovered around half a million illegal cigarettes and 110 kilos of smuggled tobacco during searches in July and September 2025.
The total street value of the seized goods was estimated at £3.5 million — equivalent to around £373,000 in unpaid tax.
Chief Superintendent Steven Meikle told councillors at the time: “We’ve seen significant results in relation to targeting counterfeit and illegal tobacco and other products being sold within our communities.”
Across Dumfries and Galloway, trading standards officers carried out 210 business inspections throughout 2025/26, while environmental health teams completed 469 inspections across the region — most of them reactive, in response to public complaints about noise, waste, fumes, and odours.
In Dumfries, officers inspected all 12 barbers in the town centre during March 2026, offering guidance on hygiene and health and safety compliance.
Several botox, filler, and sunbed premises were also visited to ensure safety standards were being met.
Food safety teams took 94 samples from businesses across the region during the year. Of 28 samples taken from Nithsdale food businesses, nine failed to meet statutory requirements — including filled rolls, ready-to-eat meats, and fish.
The business owners were given advice on improving their controls.