Oxford shop guilty of tobacco and nicotine offences
An Oxford business owner has been fined for illegal tobacco and nicotine product offences following an investigation by Oxfordshire County Council’s trading standards team.
The case, relating to Oxford Shop of George Street, was heard at Oxford Magistrates’ Court on Friday 13 June.
Bashar Mizori, 53, sole director of Oxford Shop Ltd, pleaded guilty to eight offences and was ordered to pay a £1,000 fine (reduced by one third following an early guilty plea), victim surcharge of £400, and a contribution towards costs of £3,500.
He also pleaded guilty on behalf of his company, Oxford Shop Ltd, to eight offences and was fined £5000 (reduced by one third for an early guilty plea), a victim surcharge of £2000, and a contribution towards costs of £3,500.
The total to pay in this case amounted to £15,400. All seized items were ordered to be forfeited and destroyed.
Trading standards officers inspected the premises on 15 March 2024, seizing 800 cigarettes, 168 vapes and 326 unit packs of nicotine pouches. Mr Mizori was present at the time.
On 30 April 2024 a further covert test purchase was carried out and illicit cigarettes were purchased from the shop. As a result, more illegal vapes were confiscated the following day.
Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Oxfordshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Community Safety said: “Thank you to the team for all of their work in bringing this case to court. It shows that Oxfordshire’s trading standards team, working in partnership with other agencies, will continue to crack down on the sale of illegal products.
“People can help us to stamp out illegal tobacco and create a healthier and safer Oxfordshire by being vigilant and reporting any suspicious activity using the illegal tobacco hotline.”
Jody Kerman, Oxfordshire County Council’s Head of Trading Standards, added: “This is our first completed case involving illegal pouches and, as we understand it, one of the first in the UK. Nicotine is highly addictive, and some of the seized products claimed to have very high levels of nicotine content.
“The majority were also not labelled in English, so had no instructions for safe use, or what to do if one was accidentally swallowed, which could lead to poisoning”.
Anyone with information about the illegal sale of tobacco and related items should contact 0300 999 6 999 to report it anonymously.
More information
Nicotine is highly addictive. Nicotine pouches are not currently age-restricted and, unlike vapes, there is no bespoke legislation limiting their nicotine content. A Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA) study (May 2024) showed that 18 per cent of the surveyed male players and 22 per cent of the female players use nicotine pouches.
It can be hard to stop using tobacco products but help is available. People are three times more likely to successfully quit by using a stop smoking service like Smokefree Oxfordshire. The service is free to everyone living in the county.
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