The Local Government Association (LGA) has called for “strict new measures”, including plain packaging, to regulate the display and marketing of vaping products to prevent the sale to children.
The LGA warned that many local areas have seen incidents in recent weeks where shops have been caught selling vapes to youngsters, with particular concern over the marketing of vapes with designs and flavours that could appeal to children. It urged that the category should be brought in line with tobacco in terms of how the products are sold in stores.
The measures the LGA is calling for are:
· Vapes to be in plain packaging and kept out-of-sight behind the counter
· Mandatory age-of-sale signage on vaping products – it is currently voluntary
· A ban on free samples of vaping products being given out to people of any age
· Sanctions for breaching these rules should also be the same as penalties handed out under tobacco display regulations.
Recent Chartered Trading Standards Institute research found that 60% of local trading standards services said high street shops selling illicit vapes or vaping products to children was the enforcement issue that most concerned them.
Trading standards teams reported a significant rise in underage vape sales last year, with more than a fifth of youngsters having bought vaping products from newsagents while 16.3% bought them from a supermarket.
Cllr David Fothergill, chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board, said: “Vapes need to be out-of-sight and out-of-reach of children in the same way as cigarettes. It is not right that stores are able to prominently display vaping paraphernalia for all to see, such as in a shop window, often in bright, colourful packaging that can appeal to children.”
Fothergill added that the intended use for vapes was to help people to quit smoking.
“Vapes should only be used as an aid to quit smoking,” he said. “While research has shown vaping poses a small fraction of the risks of smoking, it is deeply worrying that more and more children – who have never smoked – are starting vaping. This has become a major concern for councils, who are seeing a sharp rise in cases of shops and other outlets selling vaping products to people under 18. This is why we are calling for tougher and stricter regulation of vaping products to tackle the growing cases of children getting hold of them.”
In response to the LGA’s proposals, UK Vaping Industry Association director general John Dunne said:
“The solution is to rigorously enforce existing laws to prevent youth access, rather than focus on packaging. Nothing would be more effective than simply cutting the source of supply from unscrupulous retailers: that’s why the UKVIA is in the process of developing detailed proposals for the government to consider – including substantial on the spot fines and nationwide retail licensing and test purchasing schemes.
“Anecdotal feedback from our members shows that average age is not low for disposable devices and that they are much sought after by older segments of the population. Disposables are seen as one of the best entry vape products for smokers looking to transition to vaping as they are both easy to use and considerably less expensive than a packet of cigarettes.
“It is no coincidence that recent ONS statistics show smoking levels to be at record lows, saying that vaping has played a ‘major role’ in the decline. This also comes at a time when adult disposables sales have increased significantly.”
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