Northern Beaches Advocate: The NSW Government has announced new rules on the sale of illegal tobacco and vaping products.
Northern Beaches MPs including Jacqui Scruby and James Griffin have been calling for a crackdown on the sale of illicit products for months, in particular vapes which are sold illegally, often to children.
Pittwater MP Jacqui Scruby (image above) conducted her own ‘undercover investigation’, finding products sold illegally from shops in her electorate.
“We can’t have illegal trade, operated by organised crime permitted to operate from local community shopfronts. These products are being sold to kids, often in plain sight near schools and parks, and we’ve had no real way to stop it. That’s been both dangerous and absurd.
“If the government can close a restaurant for being unhygienic it should also close a shopfront for illegal trade facilitating organised crime. This is about health, safety and basic fairness.
“These stores are selling addictive products to teenagers, avoiding tax, and ignoring every rule in the book, while local businesses doing the right thing are losing trade and are punished for it.
“This is a big win for kids’ health, for local businesses, and for commonsense. Now we just need to make sure the laws are used, and that every single illegal shop gets shut down,” said Ms Scruby.