A food and wine shop could have its licence suspended after it was found that erectile disfunction pills, “non-complaint e-cigarettes” and nitrous oxide cannisters were being traded.
Tops Newsagents (Maxxi Food & Wine) in Topsfield Parade, Crouch End, will have its licence reviewed by Haringey Council after the items were found at the shop in two visits by trading standards officers in January this year.
Photographs taken include the discovery of erectile dysfunction tablets and gel discretely on display on a shelf, as well as a stock of tablets that were found behind the counter.
Other items found included cannisters of nitrous oxide - often known as laughing gas - electronic cigarettes with incorrect health warnings and the recreational drug poppers.
In an application for the licensing review, Haringey Trading Standards wrote that all vapes seized had tank sizes in excess of 2ml and provided as many as 3,500 puffs each, far more than the legal safe size of 600 to 650 puffs.
Some of the vapes had incorrect health warnings, did not have UK addresses and they were also not approved by the Medicines Healthcare Regulation Authority (MHRA), which is a legal requirement.
The owner of the business had stated she removed the erectile dysfunction tablets from sale after the first visit, but they were still on display in the second visit.
Images seen by the Ham&High show that some products have been promoted through a TikTok page, although most of the videos have since been removed.
On one video showcasing a nitrous oxide cannister, a user commented “I’ll take 20”.
Trading standards officers said there was a “reckless attitude” towards the licensing rules and recommended the removal of the shop’s supervisor.
The board also recommended that the licence is suspended for three months, proposing that once reopened it adopts a “Challenge 25” policy and installs CCTV along with other conditions.
A Maxi Food & Wine in Southgate had its licence suspended for three months after finding similar products of erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, illegal cigarettes, nitrous oxide and other items.
A hearing for the Crouch End shop will be held on April 4 at 7pm.
A Haringey Council spokesperson said: “Tops Newsagents (Maxxi Food & Wine) on Tottenham Lane, N8, is subject to a licence review after inspections by our officers found it to be stocking controlled medication and non-compliant e-cigarettes for sale.
“The business was also found to be selling nitrous oxide canisters to customers who then consumed them outside the premises, leading to nuisance and antisocial behaviour.”
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