Tooth-whitening product contains103 times more hydrogen peroxide than permitted; trader prisoned.
Chelmsford Crown Court sentenced Barrington Charles Armstrong Thorpe to eight months in prison, with an additional eight months under license of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPUTRs). Thorpe was jailed due to the illegal selling of a tooth-whitening product on the internet since 2005. Thorpe intentionally misled online customers into buying a tooth-whitening product which had not been deemed as legal or legit.
He started by introducing the product through the company ‘Smile Brighter Marketing Limited.’ This company was closed down but then Thorpe continued to sell the product on a variety of different websites including: www.smile-brighter.co.uk, www.brighersmile.co.uk and www.smilebrighternow.com.
Originally Thorpe starting selling the product in the USA with the help of a supplier but in 2007 Thorpe was contacted by the Bath Trading Standards with concerns that his tooth-whitener was breaching their standards and regulations. Thorpe was then contacted again in 2009 by the Essex Trading Standards with further concerns over the illegality of his product. It was at this point that an investigation was launched. Thorpe was issued a caution in 2010 which he accepted and acknowledged that his product was not fit to sell but Thorpe still continued to trade forcing the ETS to issue a prosecution.
Thorpe’s product breached ten charges of the Cosmetic Product Regulations 2008 which classified it as dangerous. The product included harmful levels of hydrogen peroxide. The levels of hydrogen peroxide which are allowed in any product of this type (contained or released) is determined by the Cosmetic Product Regulations 2008, the set permitted levels for an oral product is 0.1 percent. Thorpe’s product exceeded this amount enormously, reaching levels of 103 times the limit.
Essex County Councilor Kevin Bentley said, ‘This conviction should act as a warning to other traders that may be trying to make money by selling these illegal goods. You will be caught and potentially get a prison sentence.’ Bentley also warned consumers to ‘only purchase goods like this from a reputable source, Using unfamiliar websites to purchase unfamiliar goods for a cheap price may put you at risk.’ Bentley maintains that this kind of tooth-whitening product can cause indefinite damage to your teeth and it is not worth the risk for a desirable price.
