Calne vape shop served closure order just weeks after opening
Smoke City was investigated by Wiltshire Council Trading Standards
A sixth vape shop in Wiltshire has been handed an order to close after selling illegal products.
The latest shop, Smoke City in Calne, has been told to shut it's doors for three months after recent seizures of illegal tobacco and vapes under the Anti-Social Behaviour Crime and Policing Act 2014.
It follows an investigation by Wiltshire Council’s Trading Standards team.
The store only opened in November 2024, selling vapes, e-liquids and other smoking paraphernalia, and welcomed a Trading Standards officer on 19th November.
The officer bought a packet of Amber Leaf hand rolling tobacco which was not in standardised packaging and did not bear health warnings in English. Both the council and Wiltshire Police received complaints that illegal tobacco was being sold and that they were selling products to children.
A month later, the store was visited by officers and Police where 92 non-compliant vapes, 345 packets of cigarettes and 87 pouches of hand rolling tobacco were seized and were all found to be illegal. £3055 cash found in a rucksack was also seized under the Proceeds of Crime Act 2002.
The employee working at the store was recognised by officers as the same person who was previously working at New Road Mini Market in Chippenham, which was served with a three-month closure order in December 2024. Paperwork relating to the previous closure order was also found on the premises.
Only those who are named habitual residents and authorised persons are now permitted to enter the address. Anyone else entering the premises is committing a criminal offence and on conviction may be sentenced to 51 weeks imprisonment and/or a fine.
The closure order was made on 23rd January, where officers found further illegals tobacco at the store.
Cllr Dominic Muns, Cabinet Member for Environment, said: I’d like to thank our Trading Standards officers for their hard work getting another positive result. Thanks also to Wiltshire Police for their collaboration this week, supporting us to keep the public safe and stop these scrupulous traders from trading. Their collaboration is invaluable when we carry out these operations.
“Unfortunately, businesses that sell non-compliant vapes and illegal tobacco products have little regard for the impact on their customers’ health. Illegal tobacco is not regulated or manufactured to the same standards as normal tobacco and is often found to contain higher levels of harmful substances, as well as chemicals which are not normally permitted.
“With this being the sixth closure order of this type in Wiltshire in the last six months, I hope this sends a message that we are committed to tackling businesses that aren’t complying with the law and to deter others from taking part in similar activities.”
Sgt Mike Tripp from Wiltshire Police, said: “We are determined to clamp down on businesses which put the public’s health at risk by selling non-compliant tobacco and vapes.
“The laws around them are there for a reason. We know there is a real risk that illicit vapes and tobacco, such as that seized in these raids, could contain dangerous levels of nicotine or chemicals you don’t know you’re inhaling.
“We are grateful to Trading Standards for their work and collaboration on these raids and we will continue to work with our partners to keep the public safe.”
The closure notice in Calne follows similar orders in Chippenham, Devizes, Melksham and Salisbury in 2024.
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