The Queen v LL
LL was charged with 17 counts of 'sell tobacco product in a package not marked with a health warning’ contrary to section 7(2) of the Public Health (Tobacco) Act 2008.
The maximum penalty for a breach is 100 penalty units per charge, or $11,000.00.
LL had at her business a large quantity of unlabeled tobacco products not marked with the prescribed health warning. She was charged for each brand of cigarettes incorrectly labelled, amounting to 17 separate breaches.
Bill O’Brien represented LL, and pleas of guilty were entered at the earliest opportunity. The magistrate accepted submissions made on LL’s behalf, and charged only $300 for each offence rather than the maximum penalty.
LL ended up paying $5,100 in total for the charges, which was a great result considering the maximum penalty could have amounted to $187,000.