Wyndham council has cracked down on businesses found to be selling tobacco and e-cigarette products to children.
Between January and May, 16 tobacco and e-cigarette retailers were randomly selected and tested by purchase assistants.
Purchase assistants under the age of 18-years-old visited the stores with the aim of buying tobacco, cigarettes or e-cigarettes such as vapes.
They were not allowed to lie about their age or present any fraudulent identification during the test.
Three businesses sold tobacco to the test purchase assistants and staff were fined $727 each.
The operation was completed as part of council’s commitment to undertake tobacco safety related activities and Wyndham mayor Peter Maynard said a number of businesses had received warning notices and infringements.
“While it was encouraging that most businesses complied with the law, it is disturbing that cigarettes or e-cigarettes were still being sold to those under the age of 18,” he said.
“It’s important that when it comes to something as serious as selling tobacco or e-cigarettes to a minor, that Wyndham businesses are on the same page in protecting the health of our community,” he said.
Council officers also made 64 onsite educational visits to a number of businesses and provided additional information to 180 businesses to ensure staff training on tobacco laws was adequate, training records were kept up to date.
“The outcome of these visits and this testing process can serve as a reminder to all Wyndham businesses about how vital it is to provide effective training of tobacco laws to staff, and the requirement on asking for identification when selling tobacco,” Cr Maynard said.
“This is a reminder to all Wyndham businesses to inform their staff of the importance of asking for ID when selling tobacco.”
