30th May 2008
An attempted scam by a West End club owner to fool EHOs into thinking customers were smoking electronic not real cigarettes has failed to impress Westminster magistrates.
They fined David West, owner of the HeyJo Club and adjoining Abracadabra restaurant in Jermyn Street, for allowing smoking on his premises at a hearing this month.
Mr West claimed EHOs could not tell if customers were using electronic cigarettes or smoking tobacco cigarettes, and used an electronic cigarette to demonstrate how they could be confused. But magistrates ruled he had attempted to pull the wool over the eyes of investigators.
The case was brought by Westminster City Council after officers visited the premises on 4 and 10 August 2007 in an undercover operation. Mr West had also received prior written warnings due to his high-profile opposition to the smoking ban.
He was discovered to be advertising his club as ‘smoking premises’, with diners being asked if they would like to sit in a smoking or non-smoking section. Patrons were encouraged to use Chinese-built electronic cigarettes, handed out free in the hope they would then buy them via his import company.
The evidence against Mr West’s claims was compelling, as electronic cigarettes do not create ash or produce stubbed-out butts. He and his company Jewelite Trading were found guilty of two breaches of the Health Act 2006 and fines a total of £2,000. Costs of £5,591 were awarded to the council.
The prosecution is the latest in a long saga involving Mr West, who has used a variety of tactics to try to discredit those enforcing smoking legislation and urges smokers not to vote Labour at the next general election.
CIEH principal policy officer Ian Gray said after the case: ‘A number of electronic cigarettes are being sold and there have been concerns that the use of these will be confused with normal smoking. To avoid potential confusion, the CIEH is drafting a guide to help EHOs differentiate between the two.’