Kent sees highest number of vape sales to children

Kent's Trading Standards recorded more incidents of shops selling vapes to children between 2022-24 than any other region in England, new data shows.

The figures, which were driven by test purchases carried out by teenagers who went undercover to stores, were revealed by the BBC.

Kent County Council (KCC) recorded 391 incidents, while Newcastle City Council in second place recorded 215.

The Independent British Vape Trade Association says the majority of purposed vape shops operate within the law, serving adults that would otherwise be smoking.

In the same period, KCC, which funded a project to tackle under-age vape sales, also seized 896,271 illicit or non-compliant vapes.

Of the 136 Trading Standards bodies in England, 133 responded to Freedom of Information requests from the BBC.

Between 2022 and 2024, they recorded in total:

• 3,774 occasions of shops selling vapes to children, with some retailers potentially caught more than once

• 67 instances of a shop being closed due to, at least in part, the selling of vapes to children. Many of those closures were temporary and some retailers may have been shut down more than once.

This is based on both test purchases and complaints from the community. They do not account for the number of shops selling vapes in the area or the number of vapes sold.

Dr Anjan Ghosh, KCC's director of public health, said: "We're concerned about under-age vaping.

"While vaping can help adult smokers quit, anyone who doesn't smoke should not vape.

"It's not risk-free and its effects on undeveloped bodies are not fully understood."

Selling nicotine vapes to under-18s is illegal in the UK.

The government says nicotine vapes carry the risk of harm and addiction, which is "particularly acute for adolescents, whose brains are still developing".

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