Vaping: New measures to crack down on illegal sale of e-cigarettes to teenagers

Plans to make it more difficult for children to illegally buy e-cigarettes in England are to be laid out by the government next week.

An enforcement squad made up of trading standards officers will be set up to carry out test purchases and clamp down on shops selling vapes to under-18s.

The Department of Health says it will allocate £3m to tackle the issue.

Health Minister Neil O'Brien said he was particularly concerned about the rising use of disposable vapes.

The measures will also call for help in identifying how best to stop children from vaping.

Only people aged 18 and over can buy vapes or e-cigarettes in the UK, but there has been growing pressure on the government to crack down on them being illegally sold to children.

NHS figures for 2021 showed that reported usage of e-cigarettes had risen to 9% among 11 to 15-year-olds in England - up from 6% in 2018. In the same period, vaping among 15-year-old girls jumped from 10% to 21%.

A more recent survey from public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and King's College London found that about one-in-11 (8.6%) young people in England either occasionally or regularly vape.

Mr O'Brien will make a speech at the Policy Exchange on Tuesday announcing an "illicit vapes enforcement squad" which will carry out projects across England, including making test purchasing at convenience and vape shops.

It will also issue guidance on how to ensure the laws are being complied with, as well as having the power to remove illegal products from sale.

Vapes or e-cigarettes are considered safer than normal cigarettes because they do not contain harmful tobacco, and they have become popular in helping people to quit smoking.

However, the NHS advises that vapes are not risk-free, and the long-term implications of using them are not yet clear. The vapour can still contain small amounts of chemicals, including nicotine.

Trading Standards has previously said that shops selling illegal vapes and the sale of e-cigarettes to children were the top threats to the UK's High Streets.

There is concern that cheap, brightly-coloured vapes are ending up in the hands of 12 and 13-year-olds, with experts discouraging young non-smokers from taking up the habit.

Action on Smoking and Health has called for plainer packaging on vaping products to make them less attractive to children.

ASH Chief Executive Deborah Arnold said she was pleased the government has "finally announced funding for enforcement to tackle the scourge of underage sales".

She called for other "obvious measures" to be put in place, including taxing disposable vapes to raise their cost to more than "pocket money prices" and introducing plain packaging.

Councils in England have also said vapes should be kept out of sight of children in shops and the legal minimum age of 18 should be marked clearly on each product.

The UK Vaping Industry Association said the solution is to enforce existing laws on retailers rather than focus on packaging.