Two Blackpool stores ordered to close for selling illegal vapes and tobacco
They also sold to minors and breached Food Safety and Food Hygiene regulations
Two stores in Blackpool have been ordered to close after thousands of illegal cigarettes and vapes were found.
Trading Standards officers seized 4,520 cigarettes and 335 vapes with a retail value of £6,700 from Easy Mini Market on Mayfield Avenue, South Shore, and Nova Supermarket on Central Drive.
The stores continued to sell illegal products even after the seizures, sold age-restricted items to minors and breached Food Safety and Food Hygiene regulations.
They've been ordered to close for three months, until 1st July 2026.
“We will not tolerate the sale of illicit and harmful products, especially to children and young people", Cllr Paula Burdess, cabinet member for community safety at Blackpool Council, said.
She also highlighted the risks of them: "It isn’t just that these products are illegally produced and sold, they are highly hazardous, posing fire and health hazards for consumers.
"Illicit products such as non-compliant vapes and smuggled or counterfeit tobacco are produced in unregulated environments and are known to be more harmful than legitimate similar products."