Six month tobacco sales ban given to shop for persistent cigarette sales to children
Published 22 December 2011
Dulwich Supermarket given ‘Restricted Premises Order’ after multiple offences of selling tobacco to under age customers.
In what's believed to be a first for London, a shop in East Dulwich has been banned from selling any tobacco products for 6 months, after it had been found to have repeatedly breached the law on selling cigarettes to children.
A District Judge at Tower Bridge Magistrates Court issued the ban on Dulwich Supermarket, following an application from Southwark Council.
In September of this year Salman Tumay and his business partner, Suleyman Yuzuguzel, who ran Dulwich Supermarket at 18 Lordship Lane SE22, pleaded guilty to the illegal sale of tobacco to under 18 year olds*, relating to two separate sales on 6 February and 27 March 2011. They were fined a total of £1680.
These offences followed an underage sale of tobacco five months earlier on 24 August 2010 by an employee, where no proceedings were taken and the employee and Mr Tumay attended formal training on the law and how to prevent making underage sales.
After the September conviction Southwark Council gave notice of its intention to apply for the Restricted Premises Order, issuing a notice to all those affected by the application.
It is thought to be the first time that a shop in London has been given a total ban from selling any tobacco product.
Cllr Richard Livingstone, cabinet member for finance, resources and community safety at Southwark Council, said:
"I trust this order will show to other traders just how seriously we take the issue of illegally selling products to children. Our Trading Standards Officers carry out an important part of our community reassurance work, and this is a great result for our team."
