Enforcement of the illegal sale of products to a minor is the responsibility of Trading Standards and Dr Laverty says the budget cuts have “certainly affected” the agency’s ability to crack down on the illegal purchase of products only for those over the age of 18 years.
It is “likely,” he said, that children go to small stores to buy vapes because they can circumvent age restrictions.
“Kids know from all the advertising that these stores sell e-cigarettes, and they know from the news and their friends that a lot of them are vaping and they manage to buy them somewhere.”
The government rejected amendments to the health and social care bill in 2021 that would have given lawmakers more power to control vape marketing in the UK.
Study co-author Professor Nicholas Hopkinson, also from Imperial, said: “Since then, youth vaping has increased dramatically. It is about time the government took steps to deal with this.
“In addition to display bans and standardized packaging, an excise duty on disposable vapes would prevent them from being available at pocket prices and place them under the excise control regime, giving HMRC and the Border Force powers to deal with illegal imports.
Hazel Cheeseman, Deputy Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health, said: “This analysis shows that in-store promotion has the greatest impact, which is why ASH advocates banning the promotion and display of e-cigarettes in stores. just like the kids.” vape friendly packaging and labeling.”
