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UK shops sell e-cigarettes to minors as health experts call for tougher laws

UK shops sell e-cigarettes to minors as health experts call for tougher laws

2023-03-06

March 6 news, according to British media reports, after the proportion of teenagers who use electronic cigarettes has almost doubled in two years, health experts are calling for stricter laws on electronic cigarettes.


It is illegal to sell or buy vaping products to anyone under the age of 18 – but our research has found that children can easily buy vaping in stores they visit without proving their age.


In Blackburn, Lancs, 17-year-old teenager Abi Buckley bought three e-cigarettes in just 30 minutes.


Without asking her age or ID, she bought the £4.99 Elf Bar at the One-Stop Convenience Store in Shadsworth, Blackburn, the £6 version at the Best-One on Rothesay Road, and Bought 7,000 puffs of Vapers for £15 at Vapers High Street.


Another store told Abbie they were out of Elf Bars, and two others asked for ID but refused to serve her.


In Bury, Greater Manchester, Abi was sold £5 Elf Bar at Walmersley Food & Booze on Walmersley Road and Nisa Local on Parkhills Road, without being asked. Eight other stores refused to serve her after asking her age or ID.


Meanwhile, in the Northeast, 16-year-old Alexandra Green bought five e-cigarettes from 10 stores on the same day without being asked her age.


He got a £5 Elf Bar from Quality Vapes in Wallsend, North Tyneside, a £4.99 Lost Mary vape from VPZ on Market Street, Newcastle and a £7 Lost Mary from Mac Repair shop in Newcastle , a disposable Lost Mary from Uptons Vapourium on Chillingham Road, Newcastle, and a £7 Elux disposable e-cigarette from the Best-One convenience store on Grainger Street, Newcastle. Flavors include Blueberry Lemonade and Cotton Candy.


Anton Jenkins, 16, sold a £4.50 Apple Peach Elf bar at the Sam Mart convenience store in Selly Oak Bristol Road, Birmingham, although he said he had no proof of age. The staff asked him to bring his ID card next time. Six other stores turned away the teen.


According to research from Action on Smoking Health, the number of teens using e-cigarettes has nearly doubled in just two years. E-cigarette use among children aged 11-17 rose from 4% in 2020 to 7% in 2022, while more than a quarter of 16- and 17-year-olds had tried e-cigarettes, the study found.


Campaign group ASH has called for a ban on companies using cartoon characters and sweeteners to market to children. England's chief medical officer, Professor Sir Chris Whitty, slammed the sales tactic.


He said: "Marketing e-cigarettes to children is an addictive product with unknown consequences for children's intellectual development is completely unacceptable.


Professor Nicholas Hopkinson, consultant physician at the National Heart and Lung Institute at Imperial College, warned that vaping could cause lung disease.


"Non-smokers should stay away from e-cigarettes," he said. This is especially true for children whose lungs are still developing.


ASH would also like to see a tax on cheaper disposable e-cigarettes, the type kids tend to buy. Chief executive Deborah Arnott said: "Government action is urgently needed.


Staff at One Stop in Shadsworth, Walmersley Food & Booze in Bury, Mac Repair store in Newcastle and Sam Mart, Selly Oak all said they had been trained to require ID with proof of age. Quality Vapes in Wallsend said it would train staff to prevent any other underage sales, and the VPZ of Market Street in Newcastle said it had suspended a staff member.


Baz Aslam, owner of Nisa Local in Bury Parkhills Road, said: "I have a very strict policy, no ID, no service. Staff may lose their jobs.


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