E-cigarettes are to become age restricted, following the Scottish Parliament’s passing of the Health (tobacco, nicotine and care) Bill.
The new legislation also means that retailers will be required to have an age verification policy for these products in place and proxy purchase will become an offence.
The provisions of the bill are likely to come into force towards the end of 2016. This means that retailers will have yet more compliance requirements at a time when the effects of plain packaging legislation and the EU Tobacco Products Directive are beginning to hit home.
SGF Head of Public Affairs John Lee said: “Whilst we have been supportive of most of the measure contained in the Bill it means that retailers will have yet more legislation to comply with in 2016. We are working with the Scottish government to firm up on the exact timeframe for implementation of the measures in the Bill, some of which will require secondary legislation. We will also issue guidance to our members to enable them to comply and continue to sell tobacco and other products responsibly.”
SGF has already issued comprehensive guidance to it members on standardised packaging and the EUTPD.
