Trade associations representing the convenience retail sector have welcomed the announcement from the government on plans to introduce a range of measures to tackle underage vaping.
The measures include closing of a loophole that allows firms to offer free samples of vapes to children, increased education and dedicated school police liaison officers to keep vapes out of schools and a review on the level of fines for shops selling illicit vapes and whether ‘nicotine-free’ vapes should be banned for under-18s.
“The vaping market has grown significant over the past few years and convenience retailers have continued to act responsibly in the sale of these products by implementing age verification policies such as Challenge25. We welcome further resource to tackle underage vaping and the proposed ban on giving away free vapes to children – this simply does not happen in our sector and of course should not be legal,” James Lowman, chief executive of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), said.
“Now is the time for action against the irresponsible sale of these products to protect children and responsible retailers. There needs to be swift and decisive enforcement action on the ground to send the message that vaping products need to be sold responsibly to ensure the safety of our communities.”
ACS has developed comprehensive guidance alongside Surrey and Buckinghamshire Trading Standards on how to sell vapes responsibly and encourages retailers to use the robust Challenge25 policy for the sale of vapes, as is already the case for other age restricted products like alcohol or tobacco.
Welcoming the measures, the Fed’s national president Jason Birks, however, said that trading standards need greater financial support if it is to successfully stamp out the illicit vape and tobacco market.
“Fed members are responsible retailers who abide by the law governing sales of any age-restricted products but, unfortunately, we know that there are rogue shopkeepers who will sell vape products to under 18s,” Birks said.
“As a result, the Fed supports the government’s proposals to close the loophole which allows retailers to give free vapes to children legally. We also support the government’s review into selling ‘nicotine-free’ vapes to under-18s as retailers should be discouraged from encouraging children from taking up smoking and vaping.
“However, while we are supportive of the government’s stance to tackle the vaping epidemic among youngsters, we firmly believe that the regulatory authorities need greater support if they are to meaningfully counter the illicit trade.
“The Khan Review in 2022 recommended that trading standards receive an increase of £15 million in funding to tackle the illicit vape and tobacco trade. Since then, the government has only increased funding by £3 million. This is simply not enough.
“The Fed asks that the government properly fund the appropriate regulatory bodies to counter the illicit markets for tobacco and vapes. We also ask that the government increases the powers of these enforcement agencies to issue on-the-spot fines whilst increasing the maximum fine amount.
“We hope these actions will better aid trading standards in cracking down on the illicit market and reduce the levels of vaping amongst the youth, and in turn assure consumers that retailers are trading appropriately.”
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