The government is taking additional law enforcement action to ensure that the law that allows vaping and smoking to be sold exclusively to adults over 18 is followed by tillkeepers and customers to ensure that vaping devices and disposable vapes are not sold to teenagers and children under 18, after it was established that 10% of children under 15 vape on a regular or daily basis and that 25% of teenagers under 18 who are also over 15 fall into the same category, meaning that vaping devices and disposables are being obtained illegally by minors over the counter.
Most of the disposables that are sold illegally to underage customers come in amusing shapes, colours and flavours that are designed for younger customers who are not permitted to obtain them by law and appeal to children and many of them are breaking trade regulations and standards or are imported illicitly into the country from overseas.
While vaping has been invented as a health-and-hygiene-catering product that has been designed to help adult smokers quit smoking for their health, youngsters growing up in an age of prohibition mislead vaping for smoking and take the two to be the same more easilly and since they can find it to be the same get hooked and addicted to nicotine through vapes.
The government is introducing an illicit vapes enforcement squad within the realm of the authorities that will conduct border checks on imported products to ensure that vapourisers are legitimately imported that will have the power to remove products from the market if they do not comply with trading standards and regulations. The squad will enforce the law that prohibits the sale of tobacco and nicotine to underage customers.
“The new illicit vapes enforcement squad will work across the country and clamp down on those businesses who sell vapes to children – which is illegal – and get them hooked on nicotine. Our call for evidence will also allow us to get a firm understanding of the steps we can take to reduce the number of children accessing and using vapes.” said Neil O’Brien, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department of Health and Social Care.
Another source mentions that “What we have seen recently in the past year or two with youth use has really been the proliferation of different devices and most of these devices don’t comply with UK regulation. They are too big in size, they are bright in colours, they have flavours that might be more appealing to youth than to adult smokers. To stop this, greater checking at the border when the products are getting in may be the most effective measure.”
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