Illegal vapes “designed for children” are the number one high street threat, trading standards chiefs have warned. Illicit sales soared over the past year with 1.4 tonnes of illegal vapes seized in the last six months of 2022 in the North East of England alone.
The products may be designed specifically to appeal to children - with packing and flavours claiming to taste just like Skittles sweets, according to the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI). Specialist vape shops, convenience stores and corner shops were found to be selling the nicotine products to children aged 12 to 13. Usually officers' work focusses on aged restricted products such as tobacco, fireworks and traditional vapes being flogged to 16 and 17-year-olds.
Other trading standards experts have warned if retailers do not fix the issue they run the risk of a useful quitting-smoking product being over-regulated and needlessly eradicated from the market. CTSI is urging retailers to act responsibility and legally, emphasising the cigarette-alternative remains less risky than smoking, one of the biggest causes of preventable illness and death in the UK.
David MacKenzie, Chair of the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS), said: “Single-use vapes in particular are very cheap, they have bright colours, and they are attractive to children. With a lot of our age-restricted product work on tobacco and cigarettes, fireworks and traditional vapes, we’re looking at sales to 16- and 17-year-olds. But we were getting good information that these are being sold to much younger children, or certainly finding their way into the hands of 12- and 13-year-olds.”
Legal vapes and e-cigarettes and regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare product Regulatory Agency (MHRA) but many of the devices seized by Trading Standards teams flout these rules. The body requires the vape tanks are have no higher capacity than 2ml, and are no stronger than 20mg/ml of nicotine
They must also display manufacturer details and warnings and containers cannot contain more than 10ml of liquid. Ingredients such as colourings, caffeine and taurine are banned too, and any product containing nicotine but be child-resistant and tamper evident.
John Herriman, CTSI chief executive, said: “While we recognise that vaping can be a useful quitting aid for smokers, we are worried about increasing breaches of the law, with many non-compliant devices being sold on the UK’s high streets. There is also an increasing problem with vaping products being sold to children in many general retail premises such as mobile phone shops, gift shops and convenience stores.
“Trading Standards teams are doing vital work by cracking down on the unscrupulous retailers who are selling these products to young people without the legally required age verification checks. It is important that vaping products comply with rules that were established to safeguard public health, and that they do not end up in the hands of children.”
Kate Pike, Tobacco Control Lead for Trading Standards North West said the results were not surprising. She said: “It is not surprising that Trading Standards Officers are concerned about shops selling illegal vapes and selling to children, as we have seen a big increase in reports from the public.
"It’s important we support retailers to ensure that products are sold responsibly to smokers looking to quit their dangerous habit and take action if retailers flout the law. If we don’t there’s a risk that products could be banned or over-regulated, leaving smokers without the option of a product which carries a fraction of the risks of smoking and is an extremely effective aid to quitting.
“Our internal data in the North West shows that a focus on enforcement activity has reduced the number of retailers who sell to children during test purchasing operations, which is definitely a step in the right direction. We would encourage people to continue to report to us when they have concerns”
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