Selling tobacco to 16-year-old girl costs Oswestry shop owner £1,500
An 83-year-old Oswestry shop owner has been ordered to pay more than £1,500 after he admitted selling a packet of hand-rolling tobacco to a 16-year-old girl.
Ronald Lewis, who owns and runs the shop RK&MM Lewis in Upper Church Street, appeared at Shrewsbury Magistrates Court yesaterday after a tip-off that young people were regularly purchasing tobacco products from his premises.
Lewis, was investigated and prosecuted by Shropshire Council's public protection team as the result of selling hand-rolling tobacco in February 2015 to a 16-year-old girl who was acting as a volunteer for public protection officers.
Magistrates fined Lewis £500 and ordered him to pay costs of £1,041.03 and a victim surcharge of £50.
After the hearing Grant Tunnadine, Shropshire Council's investigations team manager for public protection, said: "This should hopefully serve as an important reminder to all retailers who sell age-restricted products such as tobacco and alcohol to ensure they are satisfied that the buyer is old enough.
"In this case Mr Lewis did nothing to address the age of the buyer, who had been challenged for ID and refused in many other shops on the same day.
"It remains a priority for us to ensure that young people are not able to purchase tobacco products before they are legally entitled to."
Mal Price, Shropshire council's cabinet member for public protection, added: "The council is determined to play its part in reducing smoking, which includes preventing the sale of tobacco products to those who are underage."
"Challenge 25 is a very simple policy to adopt, and has proved to be a very effective method of preventing underage sales. Any customer who appears to be aged 25 or under should be asked to prove that they are legally old enough to purchase the tobacco. I would urge all retailers to adopt a Challenge 25 policy to ensure they only sell to adults."
