Labour Pushes for Tougher Powers to Shut Down Illegal Tobacco and Vape Sellers...

The move comes as shops being made subject to closure orders are re-opening their businesses just meters away from where the court ordered them to be shut...

13th August 2025

Labour councillors in Hartlepool have put forward a motion calling for sweeping new powers to crack down on the growing trade in illicit tobacco and illegal vaping products — a trade they say is endangering public health, undercutting legitimate businesses, and fuelling organised crime.

The motion, signed by 19 Labour members, warns that cheap, unregulated tobacco and vapes are increasingly being sold through “back-room shops,” informal retail outlets, and even private homes. They argue that the current law — the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 — is too slow, too short-term, and too easily sidestepped by criminals who can simply relocate within days of a closure.

Under existing rules, local councils can apply for a Closure Order, but this lasts only three months, with a maximum six-month extension.

Labour councillors say this is “far too short to be a meaningful deterrent” and puts an “unreasonable burden” on overstretched enforcement teams such as Trading Standards.

The motion, set to go before Hartlepool Borough Councils full meeting on the 20th August 2025 calls on the Government to introduce a tougher legal framework, including:

• Extending Closure Orders for illicit tobacco and vape cases to a maximum of 12 months.

  
  

• Allowing closures not just on premises, but also on individuals and businesses, banning them from operating in retail entirely.

  
  

• Creating an automatic ban on reopening in the same area for repeat offenders.

• Giving Trading Standards a new administrative closure power when large quantities of illegal products are found — bypassing lengthy court processes.

• Including illegal tobacco and vape sales in the legal definition of anti-social behaviour, unlocking a wider range of enforcement tools.

  
  

Labour also wants the Local Government Association to back the campaign and help share “best practice” between councils, while pushing for better collaboration between Trading Standards, Licensing, Police, and Housing teams to tackle the trade more quickly.

A Serious Local Issue

The Afreen Super Store in Hartlepool's Murray Street was one of the latest shops to be closed by a court order due to illegal activity on the premises..

The motion argues that the trade in illicit tobacco is not a minor offence, but part of a larger organised criminal network — one that costs the taxpayer millions, undermines law-abiding shopkeepers, and exposes young people to unregulated, potentially dangerous products.

Whether the motion gains cross-party support remains to be seen. But if passed, its claimed it would send a clear political message from Hartlepool to Westminster: that local councils need sharper tools and longer-lasting powers if they are to take the fight to those running organised criminal activity & using shops as a 'front' for their operations....