The UK government 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;
- A review on the level of fines for shops selling illicit vapes;
- A review on whether “nicotine-free” vapes should be banned for under-18s.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said: “I am deeply concerned about the sharp rise in kids vaping and shocked by reports of illicit vapes containing lead getting into the hands of school children.
“Our new illicit vape enforcement squad – backed by £3m – is on the case, but clearly there is more to do. That is why I am taking further action today to clamp down on rogue firms who unlawfully target our children with these products.
“The marketing and the illegal sales of vapes to children is completely unacceptable and I will do everything in my power to end this practice for good.”
The sector’s trade bodies have welcomed the proposals.
ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “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.
“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.”
NFRN National President Jason Birks said: “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 £15m in funding to tackle the illicit vape and tobacco trade. Since then, the government has only increased funding by £3m. This is simply not enough.”
The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) has also welcomed the government announcement. John Dunne, Director General of the UKVIA, said: “We welcome the review into fines and repeat our calls that they should be up to £10,000 per instance and be backed up by a retail licensing scheme which would include age verification requirements and robust enforcement by trading standards departments up and down the country.
“Sadly, many trading standards departments are not resourced anywhere near enough to clampdown on the illicit and illegal vape sales and this is an issue that the government should now look at very seriously indeed.”
Dunne continued: “We also welcome the announcement that the government are looking at the position of zero nicotine vapes and the UKVIA is on record, on multiple occasions, in calling for nicotine-free vapes to be covered by exactly the same regulations which prevent the sales of nicotine vapes to those under 18. We hope that they will also now be included in the same testing and registration process that nicotine-containing liquids and devices must undergo.
“We totally agree that there can be no justification in giving free vape samples to children – whether or not they contain nicotine – but any new measures the government does impose in this area must not impact on the tremendous work being done by stop smoking centres around the country.”
