Shopkeepers warned over selling vape liquid to young people

In an undercover test purchasing operation last week, Lincolnshire Trading Standards found over half the shops it visited sold vape liquids to a 17 year old.

Officers tested 20 retail outlets, including supermarkets, Vape shops, petrol stations and newsagents. 11 of these outlets, including all the Vape shops, sold the underage test purchaser e-liquids containing nicotine.

Where retailers refused a sale, a range of reasons were given including: refusal following a proof of age request or outright refusal to serve a young person.

Dan Brown, senior trading standards officer at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “The new laws came into force on October 1, making e-cigarettes and its components, including e-liquids and the atomiser which turns the solution into a vapour, illegal to be sold to under 18s.

“We wanted to use this operation to ensure that retailers knew, understood and were following this new law and not selling to young people. Sadly, we found that more than half the retailers we tested sold e-liquids containing nicotine to our underage person.

“In this case, as it is new legislation and as so many businesses failed, we decided to give a warning and issue guidance to help the retailers understand the current legislation. We will be retesting these retail outlets and others in the area in the near future, and if they fail the test again they will face fines of up to £2,500.

“The message to retailers selling any age restricted product is, if you are not sure how old someone is – ask for identification such as a passport, driver’s licence or any proof of age card displaying the pass hologram. We would encourage all retailers to adopt the Challenge 25 scheme to prevent illegal sales.”

If you are a business and would like advice on the age-restricted product legislation, call us on 01522 552490 or visit www.lincolnshire.gov.uk/tradingstandards