Councils are especially concerned by the marketing of vapes with designs and flavours that could appeal to children, in particular those with fruity and bubble gum flavours, and colourful child-friendly packaging.
Strict new measures to regulate the display and marketing of vaping products in the same way as tobacco are needed to crack down on a rise in stores selling to children, the Local Government Association warns today.
Many local areas have seen a spate of incidents in recent weeks where shops have been caught selling vapes to youngsters, with councils having to step up enforcement activity to deal with the increasingly widespread issue.
Councils are especially concerned by the marketing of vapes with designs and flavours that could appeal to children, in particular those with fruity and bubble gum flavours, and colourful child-friendly packaging.
In contrast, the sale of tobacco is strictly regulated, with plain packaging and a requirement for products to be behind the counter.
To help stop children from being able to access vapes, the LGA, which represents councils, is calling for:
- Vapes to be in plain packaging and kept out-of-sight behind the counter
- Mandatory age-of-sale signage on vaping products – it is currently voluntary
- A ban on free samples of vaping products being given out to people of any age
Sanctions for breaching these rules should also be the same as penalties handed out under tobacco display regulations.
In a survey by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute, 60 per cent of local trading standards services said high street shops selling illicit vapes or vaping products to children was the enforcement issue that most concerned them. Teams reported a significant rise in underage vape sales last year.
Recent action taken against the issue includes:-
- Councils in London launching undercover operations to prosecute shops selling e-cigarettes to children. Barking and Dagenham Council is investigating three shops after its trading standards team sent teenagers aged 13 and 14 into businesses to buy vaping products.
- A campaign in Bracknell, Wokingham and West Berkshire aims to stop young people using vapes with visits to schools to discuss the potential dangers of vaping, and shops and supermarkets to check for underage sales and illegal vaping products
- Suffolk Trading Standards this month caught three shops in Ipswich and Felixstowe selling vaping fluid to underage customers
- Shropshire Council has raised concerns about vaping in children increasing and is carrying out test purchase operations, which has led to the seizure of 1,044 illegal vape products and three sales of vapes to children
- Shops in Taunton and Mansfield have also been recently closed after selling vaping products to children
- Norfolk Trading Standards officers have reported a worrying increase in reports of shops selling e-cigarettes to children
- Police and council officers in Southend seized over 1,200 illegal vape pens allegedly being sold to children
Data from the ASH Smokefree GB Youth survey of 11 to 18-year-olds in England showed that current vaping prevalence was 8.6 per cent in 2022, compared with 4 per cent in 2021.
It also found that over a fifth of youngsters bought vaping products from newsagents while 16.3 per cent bought them from a supermarket.
Cllr David Fothergill, Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said:
“Vapes need to be out-of-sight and out-of-reach of children in the same way as cigarettes.
“It is not right that stores are able to prominently display vaping paraphernalia for all to see, such as in a shop window, often in bright, colourful packaging that can appeal to children.
“Vapes should only be used as an aid to quit smoking. While research has shown vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking, it is deeply worrying that more and more children – who have never smoked – are starting vaping.
“This has become a major concern for councils, who are seeing a sharp rise in cases of shops and other outlets selling vaping products to people under 18.
“The evidence suggests that vaping is by no means risk-free, and so it is very alarming that young people are getting access to and using e-cigarettes.
“This is why we are calling for tougher and stricter regulation of vaping products to tackle the growing cases of children getting hold of them.”