Trading standards officials see illegal vape sales as a top threat to high streets (Picture: PA)
Shops illegally selling vapes to children as young as 12 are on the rise, according to consumer officials.
Hundreds of thousands of vapes sold illegally to under-18s were seized by Trading Standards teams in England and Wales across 2021.
In the northeast of England alone, officials seized more than 1.4 tonnes of vapes from vape stores and corner shops in the last six months of last year.
Experts worry that many of the vapes sold to children are being designed with them in mind – think bright packaging and sweet, fruity flavours.
Officials are worried that, with a significant rise in underage vape sales recorded last year, even more electronic cigarettes could land in the hands of minors.
E-cigarettes and their refill containers are regulated by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).
In a survey by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI), six in 10 local Trading Standards services are most concerned about vapes being sold to children.
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David MacKenzie, chairman of the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland, said: ‘Single-use vapes, in particular, are very cheap, they have bright colours, and they are attractive to children.
‘With a lot of our age-restricted product work on tobacco and cigarettes, fireworks and traditional vapes, we’re looking at sales to 16 and 17-year-olds.
‘But we were getting good information that these are being sold to much younger children, or certainly finding their way into the hands of 12 and 13-year-olds.’
One big concern among officials about why this is the case is vape flavours mimicking popular sweet brands such as Skittles.
CTSI chief executive John Herriman added: ‘While we recognise that vaping can be a useful quitting aid for smokers, we are worried about increasing breaches of the law, with many non-compliant devices being sold on the UK’s high streets.
‘There is also an increasing problem with vaping products being sold to children in many general retail premises such as mobile phone shops, gift shops and convenience stores.’
Herriman urged retailers such as specialist stores and corner shops to carry out age verification checks when selling vape products.
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The number of young people vaping is on the rise – and Australian researchers from the University of Queensland point to TikTok as one reason this might be.
Of 808 posts that featured a vape, the researchers found 63% of videos that portrayed vaping as positive were viewed more than 1.1 billion times.
Around a quarter of the people in the videos were younger than 18 and 71% were male.
Health officials have long raised their eyebrows at vaping – the heating of nicotine to create an inhaled aerosol.
They’re generally considered helpful to the extent that they are a preferred alternative to adult smokers as ashy cigarettes coat the lungs in tar.
A King’s College London study, commissioned by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities at the Department of Health found vaping was less harmful than cigarettes in the short to medium term and smokers should be encouraged to switch to vapes.
But they still contain the stimulant found in tobacco, nicotine, which can harm developing brains. Vapes can also contain toxins like heavy metals.
Overall, the researchers add that the long-term effects are still uncertain and more needs to be done on the risks of vaping on those who have never smoked before.
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Officials fear vapes are being designed to appeal to children by smelling of sweets.
