A shop in Lochgelly has become the first registered tobacco outlet in Fife to be banned from selling tobacco products, following an investigation by Trading Standards officers.
Fife Council applied for a tobacco retail banning order against Humayum Saleem trading as Costcutter, 49 Main Street, Lochgelly, after staff were caught selling tobacco products to under-age customers on three occasions.
Dunfermline Sheriff Court granted the order and it will ban the shop from selling tobacco for four months.
This is the second such order to be granted in Scotland this month.
The shop sold packets of cigarettes to three different test-purchasing volunteers, all under 18, on three separate occasions, despite being offered advice and assistance from Trading Standards on how to comply with the legislation.
Fife Council Trading Standards lead officer Dawn Adamson said: “Despite numerous advisory visits, repeated warnings and six fixed penalty notices being issued in total, which were all paid, Mr Saleem’s staff continued to sell cigarettes to under-age volunteers.
“On no occasion did they ask for their date of birth and on the one occasion when ID was asked for, the volunteer advised she did not have any but the sales assistant still went ahead with the sale of the cigarettes.
“Due to three separate offences being committed within a three-month time period, we were left with no option but to seek an order from the court banning him from selling tobacco products.
“The Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010 permits a local authority to apply to have a retailer banned from selling tobacco products if they breach the act three times within a two-year period.
“We are pleased that this order has been granted in this instance. However, the vast majority of retailers in Fife who are registered to sell tobacco comply with the legislation and work with Trading Standards to avoid selling tobacco to anyone under the age of 18.”