Vapes sold to underage test purchaser in eight shops

Richard Youle, local democracy reporter

A 15-year-old who tried to buy vapes as part of a Trading Standards investigation was sold them at eight premises.

Formal written warnings were issued to the sellers in Carmarthenshire after Trading Standards officers questioned them under caution and examined their due diligence and training procedures.

It is an offence to sell e-cigarettes containing nicotine to young people under the age 18.

Councillors on a scrutiny committee heard that the 15-year-old, under the covert supervision of a Trading Standards officer, had tried to buy vapes at 66 premises between October last year and January this year, meaning the vast majority were compliant.

Test purchasing

Online test purchasing was carried out by a supervised 13-year-old, who tried to buy vapes from 12 websites in Carmarthenshire.

All 12 declined the sale, either at the point of ordering or by cancelling the order afterwards because they couldn’t verify the purchaser’s age.

A second element of the investigation was about illicit vapes which contain higher than legal amounts of nicotine. None were found during routine inspections by Trading Standards standards officers but intelligence-led visits to four premises by sniffer dogs unearthed suspected illicit vapes in two of them.

One of the two premises had a large quantity of vapes concealed behind a false wall in a storeroom, a report before the place, sustainability and climate change scrutiny committee said. All items were seized, it said, and investigations were continuing.

The second premises had what appeared to be a small quantity of vapes with too much nicotine in a cupboard. It later transpired that some of them were registered with the Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Agency, as they should be.

Following interrogation of the business’s due diligence, and given the small quantity found, the business was issued with a caution.

Toxic chemicals

Vapes have been identified as an effective way of helping people stop smoking, but although they pose less of a health risk than cigarette smoking because they don’t contain toxic chemicals such as tar and tobacco, the NHS says vaping is not without risk and is highly addictive. It is not recommended for children and people who have never smoked.

Several councillors said disposable vapes were a growing litter problem. Strict controls on the supply of disposable vapes are coming into force in Wales in June.

Cllr Tina Higgins asked if council staff went into schools to warn about illegal vaping. Heidi Neil, the council’s consumer and business affairs manager, said staff had done a lot of work with schools over the years, but not as part of the recent investigations.

Options for more school visits were, she said, being explored. She added: “We have had anecdotal reports of teenagers being bought vapes by their parents for Christmas because they would rather them vape than smoke, because there is mixed messaging about the safety of it.”

Cllr Gareth Thomas wondered if vapes could be banned completely. Ms Neil said the government was seeking to make the packaging and flavouring of vapes less appealing for younger people. She said she didn’t think they would be banned outright.

Committee chairman Cllr Kevin Madge said: “I do appreciate that people are trying to come off smoking but it seems that young people have come on this bandwagon, and it’s really worrying.”