TSG Tobacco Station, Manly: Convicted and sentenced for supplying 101 illegal nicotine ‘vapes’
A tobacconist, raided by health authorities for supplying more than 100 illegal disposable ‘vape’ devices, has been convicted in a Sydney court. See what sentence he received.
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A Sydney tobacconist has been convicted for selling more than 100 illegal vapes containing addictive liquid nicotine.
TSG (Tobacco Station Group) Manly Pty Ltd, trading as the TSG Tobacco Station in Manly, was fined a total of $2,800 for supplying the disposable e-cigarettes.
Manly Local Court heard on Tuesday that the franchise tobacconist on the The Corso was raided by NSW Ministry of Health inspectors on May 25 after complaints it had nicotine vapes for sale with flavours including “strawberry ice”, “milk tea”, “pineapple juice” and “classic tobacco”.
Selling liquid nicotine in vaping devices, e-cigarettes and e-liquids is illegal in NSW.
The NSW Health Ministry can prosecute retailers for selling e-cigarette and e-liquid products that contain nicotine, a highly addictive chemical compound found in tobacco plants
TSG Manly pleaded guilty to four counts of “dealer without (Part 8) authority supply schedule 7 substance”.
The maximum penalty for selling the illegal vapes is $1,100, for each vape sold, or six months prison, or both.
Adults can buy and use e-cigarettes that do not contain nicotine. E-cigarettes and e-liquids containing nicotine are a prescription only medicine.
Court documents stated that at about 10.35am on May 25, at TSG Tobacco Station in Manly, “the defendant supplied 48 IGET XXL brand disposable vape devices which contained liquid nicotine”.
The documents also stated that at the same time and date, the defendant supplied 32 IGET SHION; 12 Gunnpod and: nine Xcelencia Vapeman disposable vapes which also contained nicotine.
Health Ministry prosecutor Rachelle Mensforth told the court that the franchise outlet had received a previous official warning abut selling nicotine-filled vapes.
Solicitor Nabil Ajaje, acting for TSG Manly director Ahmad Mohamad Sabbagh, of Casula, told the court that while the franchise had “no excuses” for selling the illegal vapes, the business had been going through a “tough” period.
Mr Ajaje said the offences were on the lower end of the scale and asked Magistrate Robyn Denes not to record a conviction.
“The business supports two families,” he said.
Ms Denes said that nicotine was still a restricted substance and that the business had “blatantly disregarded” the warning from health authorities not to sell the illegal products.
“That is, in my view, a serious breach.
“There really needs to be a message sent to other tobacco retailers, franchisees and franchisors.”
Ms Denes convicted TSG Manly on all four counts and fined it $700 for each count.
From 1 July 2021 to 30 June 2022, NSW Health successfully prosecuted nine retailers for
selling e-cigarettes containing nicotine and seized more than 75,000 e-cigarettes containing nicotine worth more than $2 million.
Mr Sabbagh’s solicitor declined an opportunity to comment outside court.
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