A tobacco test purchase operation in Edinburgh has revealed that close to half of the stores involved sold cigarettes to underage purchasers.
Trading standards officers in the city sent two 15-year-old volunteers into 40 stores, resulting in the teenagers making 18 successful purchases. The owners of the stores that failed the tests have received warnings.
The same operation also revealed that almost a third of stores were not displaying signs informing customers that tobacco products can no longer be sold to anyone under 18.