It is illegal to sell nicotine vaping products to anyone under 18 or for adults to buy them on behalf of under-18s.
Throughout the school summer holidays Caerphilly Trading Standards have been carrying out compliance checks with the assistance of the young people of the Caerphilly Youth Forum acting as underage test purchase volunteers.
Reality test purchases were attempted at a staggering 132 premises across the County Borough through the school summer holidays.
It was reassuring to find that all premises except for one, refused the vape sale to the young person and all requested identification.
Caerphilly Trading Standards are working with the retailer who sold the vape to ensure future compliance.
If an age-restricted product is sold to an underage person, the retailer and the salesperson may be guilty of a criminal offence. This applies even if the underage person claims they are buying the item for an adult.
Vaping is not for children and young people. Their developing lungs and brains mean they are more sensitive to its effects. Nicotine vaping is substantially less harmful than smoking, but it is not risk-free. That’s why there’s a minimum age of sale for vaping products in the UK.
Caerphilly County Borough Council’s Trading Standards department has a duty to enforce laws designed to protect the health and wellbeing of children and young people from harmful and damaging products.
Trading Standards are urging residents to report instances of underage sales so that targeted enforcement can be carried out to stamp out this problem.
If you would like to report an issue in confidence, please contact Trading Standards on 01443 811300 or email [email protected]
