Vaping industry demands £10,000 fines for rogue retailers caught selling e-cigs to kids

By Liam On Mar 28, 2023

Vaping manufacturers have demanded £10,000 fines for retailers caught selling e-cigarettes to children as part of an industry-proposed crackdown on the deepening crisis.

Despite it being illegal to sell vaping to under-18s, the UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) says ‘unscrupulous retailers’ continue to flout the rules.

It has demanded ‘on the spot’ personal fines for directors and owners of offending retailers, and called for a fine increase of four times the current limit of £2,500.

“No more knuckle-wrapped, it’s time to hit the offenders where it hurts the hardest – in the pocket,” said UKVIA’s Director General John Dunne.

The body, which represents brands like Juul and Geek Bar, also called for mandatory registration for all vape retailers and regular purchase testing to see if they age-check under 18s in an effort to better track down the problem.

NHS Digital, which last year surveyed nearly 10,000 students aged 11 to 15 about their smoking, drug and drinking habits, found that nine per cent are currently vaping – the highest recorded rate since the survey began in 2014

The vaping industry has demanded £10,000 fines for rogue retailers caught selling e-cigarettes to children in a crackdown on the deepening crisis (stock image)

The three-point plan to crack down on the childhood vaping epidemic

1. On the spot fines of up to £10,000 for retailers selling to under-18s (currently £2,500) with retail directors and owners

2. A mandatory retail registration system, with strict qualifications to enter, education programs for those selling vapes, and the ability for trading standards to withdraw registration for repeat offenders

3. A National Trial Purchasing Scheme, in which shopkeepers are regularly tested to see whether they sell to young people under the age of 18.

Retailers would be subject to strict qualifications to participate in the mandatory, fee-based registration scheme and undergo education programs for selling vapes.

Failure to follow this would allow Trading Standards to revoke registration for repeat offenders, removing their ability to sell vaping products.

Mr Dunne said: ‘It’s time to crack down on those who get away unpunished and make a lot of money by continually breaking the law.

“By allowing trading standards to more vigorously and effectively control the retailers, I think we can make a dramatic difference on the issue of youth vaping. ‘

He added that the proposals are not only intended to deter “rogue retailers” but also to allow the government to properly monitor the problem through trading standards enforcers.

Nearly one in 10 high school students are now regular vapers — double that in 2014.

Almost every high street in the country now has a designated vape shop and e-cigarettes are sold for as little as £5 in virtually all newsagents.

However, unlike tobacco, the devices do not need to be hidden behind shutters, despite some devices containing as much nicotine as 50 cigarettes.

Often sold in glossy displays, they come in a variety of colors and kid-friendly names and flavors, such as bubble gum, jelly babies, and strawberry milkshake.

Adam Afriyie, MP for Windsor and vice-chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for Vaping said the proposals are “just what is needed” as vaping for young people has “no place in society” and restricting access to the products would key.

“The government banned the sale of vapes to children in 2015, but the worrying rise in use among young people means more needs to be done to effectively control the sale of these products in accordance with the law,” said Mr Afriyie.

“It is right to crack down on retailers who sell vaping to children.”

The proposals come after the Chartered Institute of Trading Standards (CTSI) issued a statement calling for urgent support and clarification from the government “as the scale of non-compliant vapes and concerns about underage sales have snowballed and out of the walking by hand’.

Mr Hassett highlighted his concern that children are not fully aware of the contents of e-cigarettes.

One in 10 high school students now uses vaping, despite uncertainty about their long-term health effects

The CTSI said: ‘Trading Standards teams are very thinly spread and enforce laws on a range of issues from food standards to product safety. We need more boots on the ground to help enforce regulations.”

And concerns were also raised about counterfeit products, as Trading Standards said the prevalence of ‘non-compliant and counterfeit’ vaping has risen rapidly.

But they claimed they don’t have enough enforcers to adequately address the problem, calling for “more resources, stronger powers and higher penalties.”

Despite it being illegal to sell e-cigarettes to under-18s, their use has been on the rise for years. Figures show that rates have tripled in less than a decade.

And a report from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) from last year found that the percentage of kids ages 11 to 17 currently vaping has increased from 4 percent in 2020 to 7 percent in 2022.

In 2013, only 3 percent of kids ages 11 to 15 had ever vaped, but this rose to 8 percent by 2020 and 10 percent by 2022.

And recent data showed that vape sensors installed in schools are being triggered as many as 22 times a day.

Health officials have highlighted the “appalling” marketing tactics of vape retailers, claiming their bright colors and cartoons target them at children.