Resources - e-cigarettes

There are growing concerns about the numbers of young people using vapes. Trading Standards have seen a significant increase in complaints about sales of disposable vapes to young people.

E-cigarettes are an age restricted product. It is illegal to sell e-cigarette products to anyone under 18 or for adults to buy them on behalf of under-18s.The maximum penalty for selling an e-cigarette to a person under 18 years is a fine of £2500.

There are disposable vape products on the market that don’t meet UK regulations. These products can be seized by Trading Standards and a business supplying these could be prosecuted, so make sure you only stock and supply legal product.

Retail poster

Check 25 – When selling an age-restricted product you should carry out age verification checks on anyone who looks younger than 25. Display these posters in your premise

Age certification checks – verify the age of potential buyers by asking to see an identity card that bears the PASS hologram (the Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS) is the UK's national proof-of-age accreditation scheme supported by the Home Office, the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) and the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI).

Keep & maintain a refusals register – This means keeping a record (date, time, incident, description of potential buyer) where sales of age-restricted products have been refused. This helps to demonstrate that you actively refuse sales and have an effective system in place

Training

Vape retailers WEEE compliance video

Vape retailers obligations under the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Regulations (WEEE).

Some small retailers currently have an option to join a ‘Distributor Takeback Scheme,’ which means they do not have to takeback the electrical items, but if the retailer is not eligible or does not register with the scheme, then they MUST have in place a takeback process, which includes:

  1. Make provision to have a waste single use vape bin in store.
    2. Pay for an approved waste contractor to collect and dispose for them.
    3. Keep all records for up to 4 years.

Further guidance on compliance with the WEEE regulations can be found on GOV.UK.