Little Fortune Trading Ltd, trading as the Balmoral Dairy, was fined $1500 in the Dunedin District Court earlier this week after it admitted liability.
The illegal sale was discovered as a result of an undercover sting run by a Smokefree enforcement officer and a volunteer under the age of 18.
A Ministry of Health spokesperson said the infringement occurred about noon on April 16 and the dairy sold a Solo Mint 1000 Puffs vape to a 16-year-old.
The company was the only one in Dunedin to be issued with an infringement notice this year.
Queen’s High School is about a 15-minute walk from the Balmoral Dairy, and principal Barbara Agnew said the incident was worrying.
"We, as are our community, are concerned that a local dairy has been convicted for selling vaping products to minors," she said.
She noted the harm vapes were causing among young people and that they were "widely and aggressively" marketed to them.
King’s High School is also nearby and principal Nick McIvor said the school had "zero tolerance" for its students vaping.
"We are confident we instil strong values into our boys that vaping isn’t a healthy option in and out of school uniform," Mr McIvor said.
While an infringement notice was issued in this case, if a person is prosecuted for selling tobacco or a vaping product to a person under 18, the maximum fine is $100,000 for a company or $10,000 for an individual, if convicted.
Little Fortunes Ltd was fined $1500 for the infringement.
The Ministry of Health spokesperson said "great progress" had been made in reducing smoking over the past decade.
"Vaping may help people quit smoking. However, we must ensure that young people are not attracted to vaping," the spokesperson said.
The ministry highlighted recent measures implemented in an attempt to curb youth vaping, including the ban on visibility of vaping products in general vape stores and increased fines for selling to minors.
