The British government will next week set out plans to make it harder for children to buy e-cigarettes illegally in England, setting up an enforcement team of trading standards officers to conduct trial purchases and clamp down on shops selling e-cigarettes to under-18s, according to the government's official website.

The British government is expected to introduce tough new measures to crack down on the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s as part of its plan to reduce smoking and tackle the problem of e-cigarettes among young people, according to the announcement.

At a policy exchange on Tuesday 11 April, Neil O'Brien, the health minister, is expected to announce a new illegal vape enforcement team - backed by £3m of government funding - to enforce the rules on e-cigarettes and crack down on illegal e-cigarettes and underage sales.

Enforcement teams, led by Trading Standards, work across the country and will share knowledge and intelligence between regional networks and local authorities.

Will undertake the convenience store, small smoke shop trial purchase and other specific projects. It will also develop guidelines to help establish compliance and will have the power to remove illegal products from shops and borders.

The minister is also expected to announce the launch of a call for evidence to identify opportunities to reduce the number of children accessing and using e-cigarettes, while ensuring they remain available as a quit aid for adult smokers.

It will explore hot-button issues such as the marketing and promotion of e-cigarettes and the environmental impact of disposable products.

Health Minister Neil O 'Brien said:

Smoking kills, so our priority is to prevent people from smoking and support them to quit. We remain committed to achieving our goal of going smoke-free by 2030.

However, while e-cigarettes are a more desirable alternative to adult smoking, we are concerned about the rise of e-cigarettes among teenagers, particularly the increasing use of single-use e-cigarette products.

The new Illegal vape Enforcement Team will work across the country to clamp down on businesses that sell e-cigarettes (which are illegal) to children and get them to smoke nicotine. Our call for evidence will also give us insight into what steps we can take to reduce the number of children accessing and using e-cigarettes.

The smoking rate in England in 2021 was 13.0%, a record low, thanks to measures such as doubling duty on cigarettes since 2010 and continuing funding for local smoking cessation services.

In 2021-22, local authorities spent ￡68m of public health grants on smoking cessation services, which supported nearly 100,000 people to quit.

In addition, £35m was poured into the NHS last year so that all smokers in hospital will receive NHS-funded tobacco treatment services.

In the UK, only those aged 18 and over can buy e-cigarettes or e-cigarettes, but pressure is growing on the government to crack down on the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to children.

NHS figures for 2021 show that e-cigarette use among 11 - to 15-year-olds in England has risen from 6% in 2018 to 9%. Over the same period, e-cigarette use among 15-year-old girls went from 10 percent to 21 percent.

A recent survey by the public health charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) and King's College London found that around one in 10 young people in England (8.6%) use e-cigarettes occasionally or regularly.

In a speech to the Policy Exchange on Tuesday, Mr O 'Brien will announce the creation of the Illegal vape Enforcement Team, which will run projects across England, including trial purchases in convenience stores and vape shops.

It will also publish guidance on how to ensure the law is complied with and the right to take illegal products off the shelves.

E-cigarettes are considered safer than regular cigarettes because they do not contain harmful tobacco, and they have become popular in helping people quit smoking.

However, the NHS advises that e-cigarettes are not without risks and the long-term effects of using them are unknown. The vapor may still contain small amounts of chemicals, including nicotine.

Trading Standards has previously said that shops selling illegal e-cigarettes and selling them to children are the biggest threat to Britain's high streets.

Amid fears that cheap, brightly coloured e-cigarettes could end up in the hands of 12 - and 13-year-olds, experts have discouraged young non-smokers from taking up the habit.

Action on Smoking and Health is calling for simpler packaging of e-cigarette products to make them less attractive to children.

ASH's chief executive, Deborah Arnold, said she was pleased that the government had finally announced funding for enforcement to tackle the scourge of underage sales.

She called for other obvious measures, including a tax on single-use e-cigarettes to raise their cost above pocket money and the introduction of paperback packaging.

England's parliament also said e-cigarettes should be kept out of sight of children in shops and that the legal minimum age of 18 should be clearly marked on each product.

The UK e-cigarette industry association said the solution was to enforce existing laws on retailers rather than focus on packaging.