To read the headlines about vaping, one would be forgiven for thinking that one of the horsemen of the apocalypse had just arrived with a stash of e-cigarettes. Many would not encounter the good news that vapes are an effective smoking cessation tool with much lower health risks than cigarettes.
Sadly, that positive information is so often lost amid understandable concerns about high levels of teenage vaping. To present-day school kids, vapes are what smoking behind the bike sheds were to a previous generation.
However, it should not be forgotten that whether it was a 14-year-old having a drag during lunchtime back in the 1980s or someone vaping in the school toilets now, the act is illegal. Under-18s cannot lawfully buy vapes, period.
Of course, as a reliable vape supplier we would never be party to such activities. But clearly that is not true across the board and concern has been rising. So much so that last month saw Britain’s chief medical officer Sir Chris Whitty demanding a crackdown on underage vaping, including action to stop vapes made with colours or flavours designed to appeal to youngsters.
All this is going on while illegal vapes have been seized from any shops, with ITV News recently reporting on a raid at a shop in Cardiff that saw illegal products being seized.
A key point to note is that such shops are letting down retailers elsewhere, who act within the law and use only lawful suppliers. The UK Vaping Industry Association (UKVIA) is all too aware of this and, as Talking Retail notes, has been proactive in trying to deal with the issue. Its latest action is to update guidance for retailers on how to curb underage sales, with this being made freely available.
It highlights the simple fact of law that in England and Wales, under-18s cannot buy vapes and, as with alcohol or cigarettes, so-called proxy purchasing, where an adult buys such items to be used by kids, is also illegal. In Scotland the law is tougher still, with written authorisation needed before any staff aged under 18 can sell vapes, so nobody can do favours for their friends.
Further guidance involves recommending retailers use a ‘challenge 25’ policy so that anyone aged under 25 has to show some proof of age ID, just as they would with other restricted tobacco or alcohol items. It also urges that foreign passports are accepted to avoid clashes with equality law and to keep a record of every refused sale.
Commenting on the situation, UKVIA head John Dunne said: “Policy makers, politicians and consumers must have confidence that the vaping industry is a responsible sector and this will be undermined if businesses do not implement and uphold robust age verification processes.”
He called for the authorities such as the government and trading standards to do more to support the law, by levying far more maximum fines of £10,000 to deter illegal sales.
With Britain’s top health expert on the case, it may be that now we will see the concerted action needed, helping to curb underage and illegal sales and change the narrative to enable the positive news about vaping as a smoking cessation tool to be heard and not drowned out in the noise.
